Various water pollutants, such as endocrine disruptors, dyes, and microorganisms pose significant threats to the ecosystem and human health. However, integrated treatment methods for these pollutants are still scarcely investigated, which greatly impedes the advancement of water treatment technology. In this regard, there is an urgent need for novel combined processing techniques capable of simultaneously removing different types of pollutants from wastewater. Herein, we synthesized a molecularly imprinted MOF/PVDF electrospinning nanofibrous membrane, which is designed for selective adsorption of bisphenol A (BPA), photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB), and efficient inhibition against bacteria in treating wastewater. Firstly, the as-prepared MOF/PVDF molecularly imprinted polymer membrane (MOF/PVDF-MIM) exhibits a higher affinity for BPA compared to other model pollutants attributing to the molecular imprinting effect. The adsorption mechanism was also investigated, indicating that the pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm model closely match the adsorption process of the MOF/PVDF-MIM on BPA. In addition, the MOF/PVDF-MIM demonstrates excellent photocatalytic performance towards MB, achieving a degradation rate of up to 95.2 % under simulated sunlight irradiation. Moreover, the as-prepared membrane shows enhanced structural stability after several rounds of adsorption-desorption or degradation cycle, with a high adsorption rate of 53.1 % for BPA and a photocatalytic efficiency of 66.6 % for dye pollutants. Finally, it is observed that the as-prepared membrane exhibits excellent bacterial inhibition rates (>99 %) against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. In summary, the MOF/PVDF-MIM with outstanding performance in selective adsorption, photocatalytic degradation, and bacterial inhibition, can be potentially applied as an ideal filtration membrane for the combined treatments of water processing.
Inspired from seaweed swayed by waves, the enhanced hydrogen evolution is realized in porous and hybrid g-C 3 N 4 /Pt-PVDF electrospun membranes via piezoelectricity from water flow energy. The membranes are fabricated by dispersing g-C 3 N 4 /Pt into the mixed solution of PVDF and PEO, followed by electrospinning and selective removal of PEO. By changing the PEO amount, the pore size in nanofibers is adjusted. Due to the hydrogen bonding between g-C 3 N 4 /Pt and PVDF, the β phase of PVDF is increased, beneficial for the piezoelectricity performance. When the electrospun membranes are exposed to water flow, an additional potential field is triggered due to the deformation of PVDF. It not only eases the photogeneration of charge carriers from g-C 3 N 4 /Pt but also hinders their recombination. The prolonged lifetime significantly improves the photocatalytic water splitting of g-C 3 N 4 /Pt under visible light. The hydrogen evolution in the electrospun membranes (PVDF to PEO = 4:1) is profoundly improved to 9 278 µmol h −1 g −1 , almost doubled to the pure g-C 3 N 4 /Pt nanosheets (5 220 µmol h −1 g −1 ). Therefore, the seaweed-inspired electrospun membrane is a promising strategy for the efficiently photocatalytic water splitting via g-C 3 N 4 in an aqueous environment, such as a natural sea and lake, by the piezoelectricity gained from the water flow energy.