A recyclable TiO2/FeTiO3-coated ceramic membrane for photocatalytic inactivation of microcystis aeruginosa: Construction, performance, and mechanism

The limited recovery rate of powdered photocatalysts and potential secondary pollution issues have constrained the practical application of photocatalytic technology. Therefore, it is urgent to develop easily recoverable photocatalysts to address harmful algal blooms. In this study, a simple sol-gel method was used to synthesize a recyclable TiO 2 /FeTiO 3 composite photocatalyst on ceramic membrane for photocatalytic inactivation of Microcystis aeruginosa . TiO 2 /FeTiO 3 photocatalysts exhibit stable algal removal performance under various conditions (natural organic matter content, alkalinity levels et al. ), the TiO 2 /FeTiO 3 -4 photocatalyst with the best performance can achieve 100% photocatalytic inactivation of Microcystis aeruginosa (OD 680 =0.8) within 4 h of light irradiation. TiO 2 /FeTiO 3 photocatalysts can not only inactivate Microcystis aeruginosa , but also degrade intracellular and extracellular organic matter. Free radical scavenging experiments prove that holes play a major role in the photocatalytic inactivation of Microcystis aeruginosa , additionally, cyclic stability tests indicate that the photocatalyst is easy to recover and maintains a degradation rate of 97.19% even after three cycles. The process of preparing recyclable photocatalysts on ceramic membranes provides new ideas for the application of photocatalytic technology in pollutant treatment.