Flexible zirconium doped strontium titanate nanofibrous membranes with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performance and antibacterial activities

Constructing flexible perovskite structured ceramic fibrous materials would potentially facilitate applications of photocatalysis, wearable devices, and energy storage. However, current perovskite structured ceramic fibrous materials were fragile with small deformation resistance, which have limited their wide applications. Herein, flexible zirconium doped strontium titanate (ZSTO) nanofibrous membranes were fabricated via combining sol–gel and electrospinning methods. The microstructures (pore and crystal) of ZSTO nanofibers were affected by zirconium doping contents and closely relevant to flexibility of resultant membranes. The probable mechanism for flexibility of ZSTO nanofibrous membranes was presented. Furthermore, the silver phosphate modified ZSTO (AZSTO) exhibited superior photocatalytic performance towards tetracycline hydrochloride (TCHC) and antibacterial performance towards Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria with visible-light irradiation, including 85% degradation towards TCHC within 60 min, >99.99% inhibition rate and > 3 mm inhibition zone against Gram bacteria. Furthermore, the·superoxide free radical (O2–) and holes played significant roles in the degradation of TCHC that verified by radical scavenger experiment. Additionally, the membranes exhibited good reusability over five cycles without tedious recycling operations needed for micro/nanoparticle-based catalysts. The successful fabrication of ZSTO nanofibrous membranes would provide a new insight into photocatalysts, antibacterial materials, and wearable device.