Facile fabrication of carbon nanotubes/zinc oxide decorated poly(vinyl alcohol) electrospun nanofiber membrane and its photocatalytic performance

The carbon nanotubes/zinc oxide (CNTs/ZnO) nanocomposites were immobilized on the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membrane for highly reutilization rate in photocatalytic degradation of RhodamineB (RhB) based on the combination of electrospinning and ultrasonication treatment. The results revealed that the CNTs are successfully compounded with ZnO, and the surface of nanofibers was uniformly covered with CNTs/ZnO nanoparticles. Under visible light irradiation, the CNTs/ZnO@PVA nanocomposites displayed excellent photocatalytic activity with 98.4% of RhB degradation rate within 3 h illumination. In comparison with pure PVA, and CNTs/ZnO with equivalent loading capacity on CNTs/ZnO@PVA film suspended in aqueous solution, the synthesized CNTs/ZnO@PVA film degrades RhB dye more efficiently. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of CNTs/ZnO@PVA nanocomposites did not change significantly even after five recycles, indicating a certain degree of reusability. The mechanism of enhanced photocatalytic activity was proposed. The as-prepared flexible CNTs/ZnO@PVA nanocomposites could be employed as a promising material for the practical photocatalytic degradation of wastewater.