Construction of ternary Ag@ZnO/TiO2 fibrous membranes with hierarchical nanostructures and mechanical flexibility for water purification

Rational design of semiconductor membrane photocatalyst with good mechanical flexibility and excellent photocatalytic activity is of significance for environmental remediation. Herein, flexible Ag@ZnO/TiO 2 fibrous membranes with hierarchical nanostructures were fabricated through combining a simple electrospinning method and subsequent hydrothermal reaction and photodeposition process. In the ternary nanocomposite, ZnO nanorods were firmly anchored onto TiO 2 nanofibers , while Ag nanoparticles were evenly decorated on the surface of both ZnO and TiO 2 . Benefiting from the improved light absorption, large surface area, and effective charge separation, the resultant Ag@ZnO/TiO 2 membranes displayed superior photocatalytic degradation efficiency of 91.6% toward tetracycline hydrochloride within 1 h, and also exhibited prominent antibacterial activity with a 6.5 log inactivation of E. coli after 1 h simulated solar light exposure. Significantly, the membrane photocatalyst still preserved structural integrity and mechanical flexibility after utilization. This study provides an alternative approach for designing and synthesizing flexible TiO 2 -based membrane photocatalysts toward high-efficiency water purification.