Enhanced piezocatalytic activity of BiFeO3 incorporated PVDF-HFP membrane for efficient degradation of carcinogenic industrial pollutant

This work reports solvothermal synthesized multiferroic bismuth ferrite nanoparticles (BFO) supported PVDF-HFP membrane (PBF) for the degradation of organic pollutants (Rhodamine B). The bismuth ferrite NPs have been incorporated into the PVDF-HFP matrix in four different concentrations (PBF0, PBF2.5, PBF7.5, PBF11). The BFO perovskite crystals have successfully enhanced the piezoelectric activity of the PVDF-HFP membrane and have been found to be highest for PBF7.5, which further results in the generation of reactive radicals (ROS). These ROS have reacted with dye solutions and enhanced the piezocatalytic activity of the synthesized material. The catalytic efficiency of this membrane is found to be the highest (∼95.2 %) for PBF7.5 with promisingly rapid degradation rates (in 40 min). Furthermore, the BFO-PVDF-HFP membrane successfully extracts from the solutions which make it reusable in industries. Moreover, this multifunctional free-standing membrane could be a possible alternative for future wastewater treatment plants.