Water-flow driven activation flexible PANI/β-PVDF piezoelectric spheres with enhanced piezoelectric properties for efficient degradation of organic pollutants

The conductive polymer polyaniline was introduced into poly(vinylidene fluoride) to improve its piezoelectric β phase content and conductivity, and a novel polyaniline/β-poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PANI/β-PVDF) piezoelectric spheres was prepared successfully for the water-flow driven piezocatalytic degradation of levofloxacin. PANI/β-PVDF piezoelectric spheres showed excellent piezocatalytic performance, and the degradation efficiency of levofloxacin reached 98.1 % within 30 min. It was worthing note that the EE/O value of the water-flow driven piezocatalytic system was only 6.57 % of that of the ultrasonic driven system. Based on the frontier orbital theory and Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, the possible piezocatalytic degradation pathways of levofloxacin were deduced. The results of toxicity migration evaluation during reaction showed that the acute toxicity and developmental toxicity of levofloxacin were significantly reduced. The piezocatalytic degradation of levofloxacin by PANI/β-PVDF piezoelectric spheres is triggered by the water-flow, which provides a new idea for the sustainable development of high efficiency and low consumption treatment of antibiotic wastewater.