Construction of PVDF photocatalytic membrane based on Ag3PO4@ZnIn2S4 heterostructures towards highly efficient tetracycline removal

Photocatalytic membrane technology offers great potential for application in wastewater treatment. However, powdered photocatalysts face challenges such as particle agglomeration, potential secondary contamination, and difficulty in reuse, which significantly hinder their practical application. To address the aforementioned issues, we constructed photocatalytic membrane reactor system based on Ag 3 PO 4 @ZnIn 2 S 4 heterostructures and PVDF ultrafiltration membranes. The integrated Ag 3 PO 4 @ZnIn 2 S 4 /PVDF photocatalytic membrane was fabricated by incorporating the Ag 3 PO 4 @ZnIn 2 S 4 heterojunction photocatalyst into the PVDF membrane through the phase separation method. The 2-Ag 3 PO 4 @ZnIn 2 S 4 /PVDF photocatalytic membrane exhibits high light absorption capacity and photocatalytic performance, which achieving 75% removal rate of tetracycline within 120 min under visible light. The mechanism of the photodegradation of pollutants by the prepared photocatalytic membrane was further clarified. This work not only solved the problem of difficult recovery of powdered catalysts, but also provided a new strategy for effectively removing antibiotics.