C,N co-doped TiO2 hollow nanofibers coated stainless steel meshes for oil/water separation and visible light-driven degradation of pollutants

Abstract Complex pollutants are discharging and accumulating in rivers and oceans, requiring a coupled strategy to resolve pollutants efficiently. A novel method is proposed to treat multiple pollutants with C,N co-doped TiO2 hollow nanofibers coated stainless steel meshes which can realize efficien...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chunyu Wang, Yingze Liu, Hao Han, Desheng Wang, Jieyi Chen, Renzhi Zhang, Shixiang Zuo, Chao Yao, Jian Kang, Haoguan Gui
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2023-04-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-28992-4
Description
Summary:Abstract Complex pollutants are discharging and accumulating in rivers and oceans, requiring a coupled strategy to resolve pollutants efficiently. A novel method is proposed to treat multiple pollutants with C,N co-doped TiO2 hollow nanofibers coated stainless steel meshes which can realize efficient oil/water separation and visible light-drove dyes photodegradation. The poly(divinylbenzene-co-vinylbenzene chloride), P(DVB-co-VBC), nanofibers are generated by precipitate cationic polymerization on the mesh framework, following with quaternization by triethylamine for N doping. Then, TiO2 is coated on the polymeric nanofibers via in-situ sol–gel process of tetrabutyl titanate. The functional mesh coated with C,N co-doped TiO2 hollow nanofibers is obtained after calcination under nitrogen atmosphere. The resultant mesh demonstrates superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic property which is promising in oil/water separation. More importantly, the C,N co-doped TiO2 hollow nanofibers endow the mesh with high photodegradation ability to dyes under visible light. This work draws an affordable but high-performance multifunctional mesh for potential applications in wastewater treatment.
ISSN:2045-2322