Integration of a Photo-Fenton Reaction and a Membrane Filtration using CS/PAN@FeOOH/g-C3N4Electrospun Nanofibers: Synthesis, Characterization, Self-cleaning Performance and Mechanism

Membrane fouling has always been a problem restricting the industrial applications of membrane technology. We synthesized FeOOH/g-C3N4 submicron particles exhibiting a visible light response and PAN(polyacrylonitrile)@FeOOH/g-C3N4 nanofibers by electrospinning. By coating a dense, smooth and nondestructive layer of chitosan (CS) on the surface of the support layer, a highly hydrophilic CS/[email protected]/g-C3N4 membrane with self-cleaning ability was successfully prepared. The mechanistic studies revealed that the hydroxyl radicals (OH·) produced by the photo-Fenton reactions are the main agents responsible for the degradation of contaminants. Compared with the use of the CS/[email protected]/g-C3N4 membrane alone, the addition of photo-Fenton reactions could effectively recover the water flux of the membrane polluted by methylene blue and erythromycin, and increase the rejections. In this study, the electrospun membrane was combined with a photo-Fenton reaction for the first time, and this combination provides a new alternative solution for membrane fouling mitigation.