Multifunction ZnO/carbon hybrid nanofiber mats for organic dyes treatment via photocatalysis with enhanced solar-driven evaporation

doi:10.1007/s11706-022-0623-7

Front. Mater. Sci.

2022, Vol. 16

Issue (4) : 220623 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-022-0623-7

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Multifunction ZnO/carbon hybrid nanofiber mats for organic dyes treatment via photocatalysis with enhanced solar-driven evaporation

Wenxin WANG¹, Yang CHEN¹, Ning WANG¹(

), Zhiqiang DU¹, Martin JENSEN², Zihan AN³, Xianfeng LI¹

¹. State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes, Tianjin Municipal Key Lab of Advanced Energy Storage Material and Devices, School of Material Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China
². Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark
³. The Institute of Seawater Desalination and Multipurpose Utilization (MNR), Tianjin 300192, China

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Abstract

ZnO-based photocatalytic materials have received widespread attention due to their usefulness than other photocatalytic materials in organic dye wastewater treatment. However, its photocatalytic efficiency and surface stability limit further applicability. This paper uses a one-step carbonization method to prepare multifunctional ZnO/carbon hybrid nanofiber mats. The carbonization creates a π-conjugated carbonaceous structure of the mats, which prolongs the electron recovery time of ZnO nanoparticles to yield improved photocatalytic efficiency. Further, the carbonization reduces the fiber diameter of the carbon hybrid nanofiber mats, which quadruples the specific surface area to yield enhanced adsorption and photocatalytic performance. At the same time, the prepared nanofiber mats can increase the evaporation rate of water under solar irradiation to a level of 1.46 kg·m⁻²·h⁻¹ with an efficiency of 91.9%. Thus, the nanofiber mats allow the facile incorporation of photocatalysts to clean contaminated water through adsorption, photodegradation, and interfacial heat-assisted distillation mechanisms.

Keywords hybrid nanofiber mats zinc oxide photocatalysis solar-driven evaporation

Corresponding Author(s): Ning WANG

Issue Date: 25 December 2022

Cite this article:

Wenxin WANG,Yang CHEN,Ning WANG, et al. Multifunction ZnO/carbon hybrid nanofiber mats for organic dyes treatment via photocatalysis with enhanced solar-driven evaporation[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2022, 16(4): 220623.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/10.1007/s11706-022-0623-7
https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/Y2022/V16/I4/220623

Fig.1 Schematic illustration of preparation and application of hybrid carbon nanofiber mats.

Fig.2 (a)(b)(c)(d) Surface morphology and (e)(f) fiber diameter distribution of ZnO/PAN@NMs (upper panels) and ZnO@CNMs (lower panels). Magnification: ×5000 (left panels); ×20 000 (middle panels).

Fig.3 (a) XRD patterns of ZnO@CNMs and ZnO/PAN@NMs. (b) XPS spectrum of ZnO/PAN@NFMs and ZnO@CNMs. (c) Nitrogen adsorption isotherm of ZnO@CNMs and ZnO/PAN@NMs. (d) Conductivity of composite fiber mats with different ZnO loadings before and after carbonization.

Fig.4 (a) Adsorption curves of MO for nanofiber mats with different contents of zinc oxide before and after carbonization. (b) Adsorption curves of MO, RhB, and MB for ZnO@CNMs-3. (c) First-order kinetic model fits for MO adsorption to ZnO@CNMs. (d) Second-order kinetic model fits for Mo adsorption to ZnO@CNMs. (e) First-order kinetic model fits for adsorption of MO, RhB, and MB to ZnO@CNMs. (f) Second-order kinetic model fits of adsorption for MO, RhB, and MB to ZnO@CNMs.

Tab.1 Adsorption kinetic parameters of MO on the surface of PAN@CNMs, ZnO@CNMs-1, ZnO@CNMs-2, ZnO@CNMs-3, and ZnO@CNMs-4 after carbonization

Tab.2 Adsorption kinetic parameters of MO, RhB, and MB on the surface of carbonized ZnO@CNMs-3

Fig.5 Photocatalytic efficiency of the carbonized hybrid nanofiber mat: (a) Relative concentration of MO against time with the irradiation staring at 0 min. (b) Adsorption–photocatalysis of MO, RhB, and MB by ZnO@CNMs-3. (c) Cycling runs of ZnO@CNMs-3 for MO photodegradation where the first 60 min of each cycle is in the dark. (d) The photocatalytic mechanism.

Fig.6 (a) Water contact angles of ZnO/PAN@NMs and ZnO@CNMs. (b) Absorption spectra of wet ZnO@CNMs and dry ZnO@CNMs. (c) Water loss values of pure water, ZnO/PAN@NMs, and ZnO@CNMs. (d) Evaporation rate and efficiency with different contents of ZnO after carbonization.

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