Preparation of MOF-derived C-ZnO/PVDF composites membrane for the degradation of methylene blue under UV-light irradiation

Abstract In this paper, the ZIF-8/ZnO mixture was sintered at high temperature to prepare C-ZnO composite nano-particles with excellent photocatalytic degradation ability under ultraviolet light, and then blended with PVDF to fabricate PVDF composite membrane with capabilities of photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue(MB) via solution phase conversion. The results show that the photocatalytic performance of the prepared C-ZnO composite particles was the best when the ZIF-8/ZnO mass ratio was 1:2, and the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the PVDF composite film prepared was as high as 95.02% when the composite particle content was 15%. The photocatalytic activity of C-ZnO composite material benefits from the synergy between the two. Moreover, the efficiency of photodegradation of MB remained above 90% after the composite membrane was subjected to five cycles of experiments, which solved the problem that the traditional photocatalyst was difficult to recycle. In addition, it is found that O2- plays a major role in the photocatalytic degradation of MB through free radical capture experiments. All in all, the PVDF composite membrane containing C-ZnO composite particles has a foreseeable potential in the field of photocatalytic printing and dyeing wastewater in the future.