Integrating efficient filtration and visible-light photocatalysis by loading Ag-doped zeolite Y particles on filtration membrane of alumina nanofibers

Filtration membrane technology has already been employed to remove various organic effluents produced from the textile, paper, plastic, leather, food and mineral processing industries. To improve membrane efficiency and alleviate membrane fouling, an integrated approach is adopted that combines membrane filtration and photocatalysis technology. In this study, filtration membranes of alumina nanofibers (AF) with pore size of about 10 nm (determined by the liquid–liquid displacement method) have been synthesized through an in situ hydrothermal reaction, which permitted a large flux and achieved high selectivity. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are subsequently doped on the nanofibers of the membranes. Silver nanoparticles can strongly absorb visible light due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect, and thus induce photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes, including anionic, cationic and neutral dyes, under visible light irradiation. In this integrated system, the dyes are retained on the membrane surface, their concentration in the vicinity of the Ag NPs are high and thus can be efficiently decomposed under light irradiation. Meanwhile, the usual flux deterioration caused by the accumulation of the filtered dyes in the passage pores can be avoided. For example, when an aqueous solution containing methylene blue is processed using an integrated filtration membrane, a large flux of 200 L m−2 h−1 and a stable permeating selectivity of 85% were achieved. The combined visible light photocatalysis and filtration function leads to superior performance of the integrated membranes, which have a potential to be used for the removal of organic pollutants in drinking water.

Research highlights
► Filtration membranes of ceramic nanofibers are integrated with visible light photocatalysts.
► The membranes with pore size of ∼10 nm were synthesized via an in situ hydrothermal reaction.
► The membranes permitted a large flux while maintained high selectivity.
► The photocatalyst of silver nanoparticles on zeolite Y alleviate membrane fouling.