Lignin-based electrospun nanofiber membrane decorated with photo-Fenton Ag@MIF-100(Fe) heterojunctions for complex wastewater remediation

Abstract

Membrane technology for wastewater remediation has aroused wide interest owing to its unique properties and potential applications. However, it remains challenging to explore green, efficient and robust membrane material and technique for complex wastewater treatment. Herein, we proposed using a simple electrospinning and in situ seeding method to fabricate a lignin-based electrospun nanofiber membrane (LENM) decorated with photo-Fenton Ag@MIL-100(Fe) heterojunctions for efficient separation of oil/water emulsions and degradation of organic dye. Thanks to the embedded lignin in LENM, an ultrahigh MIL-100(Fe) loading (53 wt %) with good wettability and high porosity was obtained. As a result, the hybrid Ag@MIL-100(Fe)/LENM exhibited excellent oil/water emulsions separation efficiency (more than 97%) without a compromise of water flux. Moreover, the hybrid membrane showed an excellent dye removal with degradation of 99% methylene blue within 30 min under illumination, which is attributed to a synergy of dye adsorption/enrichment and photo-Fenton catalytic degradation from Ag@MIL-100(Fe). Therefore, the lignin-based photo-Fenton hybrid membrane can lay the foundation for the preparation and application of green, sustainable and versatile membrane materials and technologies for efficient complex wastewater remediation.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

lignin / electrospinning / heterojunctions / photo-Fenton catalysis / wastewater remediation

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Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts to declare.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 22178206) and the Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking (Grant No. GZKF202025), Qilu University of Technology, Shandong Academy of Sciences.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-023-2309-9 and is accessible for authorized users.

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