Sonophotocatalytic removal of organic dyes in real water environments using reusable BiSI@PVDF-HFP nanocomposite membranes

Amaia Zarandona; Hugo Salazar; Maite Insausti; Senentxu Lanceros-Méndez; Qi Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142069

Sonophotocatalytic removal of organic dyes in real water environments using reusable BiSI@PVDF-HFP nanocomposite membranes

Chemosphere. 2024 Apr 20:357:142069. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142069. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Amaia Zarandona¹, Hugo Salazar², Maite Insausti³, Senentxu Lanceros-Méndez⁴, Qi Zhang⁵

Affiliations

¹ BCMaterials, Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, UPV/EHU Science Park, 48940, Leioa, Spain. Electronic address: amaia.zarandona@bcmaterials.net.
² BCMaterials, Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, UPV/EHU Science Park, 48940, Leioa, Spain. Electronic address: hugo.salazar@bcmaterials.net.
³ Departamento Química Orgánica e Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Sarriena s/n, 48940, Leioa, Spain.
⁴ BCMaterials, Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, UPV/EHU Science Park, 48940, Leioa, Spain; IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48013, Bilbao, Spain.
⁵ BCMaterials, Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, UPV/EHU Science Park, 48940, Leioa, Spain; IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48013, Bilbao, Spain. Electronic address: qi.zhang@bcmaterials.net.

PMID: 38648986
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142069

Abstract

Focusing on the uncontrolled discharge of organic dyes, a known threat to human health and aquatic ecosystems, this work employs a dual-functional catalyst approach, by immobilizing a synthesized bismuth sulfur iodide (BiSI) into a poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) polymeric matrix for multifunctional water remediation. The resulting BiSI@PVDF nanocomposite membrane (NCM), with 20 wt% filler content, maintains a highly porous structure without compromising morphology or thermal properties. Demonstrating efficiency in natural pH conditions, the NCM removes nearly all Rhodamine B (RhB) within 1 h, using a combined sonophotocatalytic process. Langmuir and pseudo-second-order models describe the remediation process, achieving a maximum removal capacity (Q_max) of 72.2 mg/g. In addition, the combined sonophotocatalysis achieved a degradation rate ten and five times higher (0.026 min^-1) than photocatalysis (0.002 min^-1) and sonocatalysis (0.010 min^-1). Furthermore, the NCM exhibits notable reusability over five cycles without efficiency losses and efficiencies always higher than 90%, highlighting its potential for real water matrices. The study underscores the suitability of BiSI@PVDF as a dual-functional catalyst for organic dye degradation, showcasing synergistic adsorption, photocatalysis, and sonocatalysis for water remediation.

Keywords: Adsorption; Bismuth chalcogenide; PVDF-HFP; Photocatalysis; Sonocatalysis; Sonophotocatalysis; Water remediation.