Organic photoelectrocatalytic filtration membrane originated from PEDOT modified PVDF

A Poly 3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT) modified polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane with photoelectric activity was developed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Four kinds of membranes were prepared by 10–40% mass concentrations of FeCl₃·6H₂O oxidant. Modified membrane with 20% oxidant achieved the best performance with 0.07 e⁻⁵A photocurrent intensity. The highest removal ratio of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC, 92%), protein (90%), polysaccharide (57%) and humus (63%) were achieved under −1 V (Vs Ag/AgCl) and 210 W xenon lamp photoelectrocatalytic condition. Under optimized conditions, not only the 90% of TC and 80% of sodium humate were removed, but also the membrane flux maintained well during the 12 h continuous filtration tests. Free radicals of SO₄⁻[rad], [rad]O₂⁻ and ¹O₂ played a key role in the photoelectrocatalytic degradation. The carrier type of the membrane was changed from p-type to n-type after reaction because of the electron injection.