Highly Efficient\nPhotocatalytic Degradation\nof Organic Pollutants Using\na Polyvinylidene Fluoride/Polyvinylpyrrolidone-Cuprous Oxide Composite\nMembrane

Abstract

Enhancing the efficiency of photocatalysts in the removal\nof organic\npollutants is of vital importance in wastewater treatment. In this\nwork, a set of composite membranes that can be used for efficient\nremoval of the organic dyes, such as methyl orange (MO), methylene\nblue (MB), and Congo red (CR), were prepared through coblending/electrospinning\ntechniques using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as the substrate,\npolyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the dispersing agent and wettability\nregulator, and cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) as the photocatalyst.\nThe results showed that Cu₂O particles were well encapsulated\nin the electrospun PVDF/PVP fibers, and the composite membranes exhibited\napparently enhanced hydrophilicity. Furthermore, compared with the\npure Cu₂O particles, the composite membranes not only showed\na higher photocatalytic degradation ratio for MO (93.6%) but also\nshowed a much higher degradation rate (62.4 mg/(mg·h)) in comparison\nwith the other reported Cu₂O-based composite photocatalytic\nmaterials in the literature. In addition, the membrane sample also\nhad excellent recycling stability, and the retention rate of its removal\nability maintained 92.1% after 5 times of recycling. Furthermore,\nthe composite membranes also showed high removal ability toward MB\nand CR, with photocatalytic degradation ratios of 81.4 and 76.1%,\nrespectively. This work indicates that the prepared PVDF/PVP-Cu₂O composite membranes possess promising application prospects\nin wastewater treatment.