Self-cleaning and anti-wetting MoO3@ZIF-8/PAES-CF3 nanofiber membrane enabling stable membrane distillation

Membrane distillation (MD), a promising thermal desalination technology, faces a critical challenge in its practical deployment: membrane wetting induced by low-surface-tension contaminants, which compromises separation efficacy and long-term operational stability. To address this challenge, we conceptualize and fabricate a photo-responsive composite nanofiber membrane endowed with an intrinsic self-cleaning capability to overcome this limitation. This MoO 3 @ZIF-8/PAES-CF 3 composite membrane is architected with a hierarchical roughness and engineered to exhibit dynamic, light-gated anti-wetting behavior. The strategic integration of hydrophobic and photoactive MoO 3 @ZIF-8 nanoparticles, within a fluorinated poly (arylene ether sulfone) (PAES-CF 3 ) matrix via electrospinning yields a robust, photoactive interfacial structure that concomitantly enhances surface hydrophobicity and mechanical integrity. In direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD), the optimized membrane demonstrates exceptional performance, achieving a water flux of 21.3 L·m −2 ·h −1 while maintaining a salt rejection rate exceeding 99.9%. Crucially, the membrane shows excellent resistance to wetting induced by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) under light illumination, withstanding concentrations up to 0.15 mM. Moreover, under a feed solution containing 0.1 mM SDS, the membrane maintains stable operation for 24 h. This work presents a novel strategy for designing anti-wetting MD membranes, providing a foundation for the development of environmentally responsive and adaptive separation materials.