A bifunctional heterostructured membrane for efficient emulsion separation and photocatalytic degradation of waterborne organic pollutants

Oily wastewater discharge from industrial activities and oil spills constitutes a crucial environmental issue exacerbated by the presence of water-soluble organic pollutants . Developing efficient superwetting membrane materials capable of separating oil and water while degrading water-soluble organic pollutants is therefore highly desirable. In this study, we prepared I-doped Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 /g-C 3 N 4 heterojunction structures using a hydrothermal method utilizing graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) as the carbon source, which were uniformly distributed on the mesh of Co 3 O 4 nanowire clusters to obtain the heterojunction membrane. The heterojunction membrane demonstrates superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity, with excellent separation efficiency and outstanding permeability for oil-in-water emulsions. Additionally, the membrane exhibits good stability, superior anti-corrosive property, remarkable reusability, and near-complete degradation of several water-soluble organic dyes under visible-light irradiation. Therefore, this study provides a novel design strategy for multifunctional membranes that achieve effective treatment of complex oil-containing wastewater.