Highly flexible, core-shell heterostructured, and visible-light-driven titania-based nanofibrous membranes for antibiotic removal and E. coil inactivation

Functional semiconductor nanomaterials modified TiO2 fibrous membranes with desirable heterostructures, good mechanical properties, and superior visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity would have broad applications in environmental remediation; however, constructing such fantastic fibrous membranes still remains an enormous challenge. Herein, we fabricated a soft and heterostructured g-C3N4@Co-TiO2 (CNCT) nanofibrous membranes by a facile electrospinning approach and subsequent thermal polymerization process. The ultrathin g-C3N4 nanoshell was in situ synthesized and uniformly wrapped onto Co-TiO2 nanofiber to form core-shell quantum heterojunction, and the thickness and loading amount of g-C3N4 nanoshell can be precisely controlled through simply regulating the content of precursor (melamine). Benefiting from the three-dimensional porous networks, enhanced visible-light response, and the effective charge transfer induced by uniform and compact heterojunction, the as-synthesized CNCT membranes exhibited a prominent photodegradation efficiency of 90.8% within 60 min towards tetracycline hydrochloride, and also displayed excellent antibacterial performance with a 6 log inactivation of E. coil after 90 min visible light exposure. Moreover, the stable core-shell structures and robust mechanical strength also endow the membranes with favorable reversibility and easy-recycling ability. This study may open up new avenues for designing and constructing flexible high-performance photocatalytic membranes for water purification.