Rational Design of a High Performance Three-Dimensional Printed Concave Photoreactor for Sunlight-Drivable Micropollutant Removal from Water.

Abstract

Micropollutants in aquatic environments pose a significant threat to human health, which requires new designs of photoreactor and photocatalyst for better degrading micro pollutants. Here, we have designed a flow surface concave photoreactor through 3D printing, which can improve light collection ability by reflecting light multiple times on the surface. It is combined with a single atom modified Cr-Bi₃O₄Br/PVDF photocatalytic membrane for photo driven removal of antibiotics at environmentally relevant concentrations (100 ng L^-1 to 10 mg L^-1). The use of photocatalytic membrane flow system can effectively promote the contact between micro pollutants and active hydroxyl radicals ·OH generated in nanopores, thereby significantly improving degradation efficiency. Notably, in a 100 ng L^-1 tetracycline (TC) solution, the removal rate can reach 99.9%, demonstrating the importance of designing flow-through concave photoreactor and photocatalytic membrane. Under natural sunlight conditions, the removal rate of TC reached an impressive 99% and total 5000 mL after 5 cycles with flow velocity 1.68 mL/min. This work not only provides an effective strategy for the removal of micro pollutants driven by sunlight, but also provides important references for the design of water treatment equipment through the synergistic effect of 3D printed concave photoreactors and composite materials.