Removal of Tetracycline Hydrochloride by Photocatalysis Using Electrospun PAN Nanofibrous Membranes Coated with g-C₃N₄/Ti₃C₂/Ag₃PO₄

Abstract

In order to improve the photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4, the g-C3N4/Ti3C2/Ag3PO4 S-type heterojunction catalyst was prepared by electrostatic assembly method, and then the g-C3N4/Ti3C2/Ag3PO4/PAN composite nanofiber membrane was prepared by electrospinning technology. The morphology and chemical properties of the nanofiber membrane were characterized by SEM, FTIR, and XRD, and the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) in water by the nanofiber membrane was investigated. The results showed that g-C3N4/Ti3C2/Ag3PO4 could be successfully loaded on PAN and uniformly distributed on the surface of composite nanofiber membrane by electrospinning technology. Increasing the amount of loading and catalyst, lowering the pH value and TC concentration of the system were conducive to the oxidation and degradation of TC. The nano-fiber catalytic membrane had been recycled five times and found to have excellent photocatalytic stability and reusability. The study of catalytic mechanism showed that h+, •OH and •O2− were produced and participated in the oxidation degradation reaction of TC, and •O2− plays a major role in catalysis. Therefore, this work provides a new insight into the construction of high-performance and high-stability photocatalytic system by electrospinning technology.

Keywords

• photocatalytic
• PAN nanofiber membrane
• degradation
• tetracycline
• heterojunction