Molecules (Dec 2022)

Contact-Piezoelectric Bi-Catalysis of an Electrospun ZnO@PVDF Composite Membrane for Dye Decomposition

  • Buwen Jiang,
  • Xiaoxuan Xue,
  • Zuxiang Mu,
  • Haoyuan Zhang,
  • Feng Li,
  • Kai Liu,
  • Wenqian Wang,
  • Yongfei Zhang,
  • Wenhui Li,
  • Chao Yang,
  • Kewei Zhang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27238579
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 27, no. 23
p. 8579

Abstract

Read online

The treatment of organic pollutants in wastewater is becoming a great challenge for social development. Herein, a novel contact-piezoelectric bi-catalysis of a ZnO@ PVDF composite membrane was prepared by electrospinning technology. The obtained ZnO@PVDF composite membranes is superior to the pure PVDF membrane in decomposing methyl orange (MO) under ultrasonication at room temperature, which is mainly attributed to the synergy effect of the contact-electro-catalysis of dielectric PVDF, as well as the piezoelectric catalysis of tetrapodal ZnO and the β-phase of PVDF. The heterostructure of the piezoelectric-ZnO@dielectric-PVDF composite is beneficial in reducing the electron/hole pair recombination. As compared to the pure PVDF membrane, the catalytic degradation efficiency of the ZnO@PVDF composite membrane was improved by 444.23% under ultrasonication. Moreover, the reusability and stability of the composite membrane are comparable to those of the traditional powdered catalyst. This work offers a promising strategy for improving the pollutant degradation by combining contact-electro-catalysis with piezoelectric catalysis.

Keywords