Ternary hetero-structured BiOBr/Bi2MoO6@MXene composite membrane: Construction and enhanced removal of antibiotics and dyes from water

Membrane separation technology is an effective treatment for complex wastewater. However, severe membrane fouling restricts its practical application. Photocatalytic composite membranes with self-cleaning properties can efficaciously ease the membrane fouling. Herein, we constructed an advanced ternary heterojunction photocatalytic composite membrane by coupling MXene, Bi2MoO6 and BiOBr nanomaterials. The prepared BiOBr/Bi2MoO6@MXene composite membrane had a high permeability (1296.91 L⋅m−2⋅h−1⋅bar−1) and exhibited excellent comprehensive removal ratios for antibiotics and dyes (Tetracycline hydrochloride and Ciprofloxacin: ≥90%, Congo red: >98%). During the self-cleaning performance test, the composite membrane maintained high permeability and selectivity after 5 cycles. Density functional theory calculation (DFT) analysis revealed that the enhanced photocatalytic activity was attributed to the efficient separation of electron-hole pairs between the ternary heterojunctions. This integrated membrane with both membrane separation and photocatalysis has good application prospects in the removal of various pollutants in the wastewater field.