Facile synthesis of PA photocatalytic membrane based on C-PANI@BiOBr heterostructures with enhanced photocatalytic removal of 17β-estradiol

The prevalence of 17β-estradiol (E2) in wastewater has attracted widespread attention due to the negative impacts on ecological environments and human health. Nowadays, photocatalysis has been emerged as an efficient technology for E2 containing wastewater treatment. However, traditional powder photocatalysts face challenges such as easy agglomeration, secondary pollution and difficult recovery, limiting their large-scale application. In this study, a photocatalytic PA/C-PANI@BiOBr membrane was fabricated by immobilizing polyaniline (PANI) layer and BiOBr nanosheets on polyamide (PA) membrane through in-situ chemical bath deposition. This process leveraged the strong hydrogen bond interaction between PANI and PA, with the fine PANI fibers providing nucleation sites for the in-situ growth of BiOBr nanosheets. By repeating the immersion process, we controlled variations in the coverage density and morphology of BiOBr on the membrane surface. The PA/C-PANI@BiOBr membrane exhibited outstanding light absorption and photocatalytic performance. Notably, the optimal PA/C-PANI@BiOBr-10 membrane achieved 100 % removal efficiency of 3 mg L−1 E2 within 40 min. In dynamic cyclic experiments, PA/C-PANI@BiOBr-10 membrane maintained stable permeability and high removal efficiency of pollutants. The photocatalytic mechanism underlying these results was elucidated through photoelectric testing and further photocatalytic experiments. Furthermore, the PA/C-PANI/BiOBr-10 membrane demonstrated remarkable durability over multiple consecutive cycles, with E2 removal efficiency remaining above 96.5 % after 5 cycles.