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Metal-free graphene-based catalytic membranes for persulfate activation toward organic pollutant removal: a review

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Abstract

Owing to their ultrathin two-dimensional structure and efficient catalytic ability for persulfate activation, graphene-based nanocarbons exhibit considerable application potential in fabricating carbonaceous composite membranes for in situ catalytic oxidation to remove organic pollutants. This approach offers significant advantages over conventional batch systems. However, the relationships between the physicochemical properties of carbon mats and performance of graphene-based catalytic membranes in water purification remain ambiguous. Herein, we summarize the main mechanisms of in situ catalytic oxidation and the facile fabrication strategies of carbonaceous composite membranes. Different factors influencing the performance of graphene-based catalytic membranes are comprehensively discussed. The defective level, heteroatom doping, and stacking morphology of carbon mats and operational conditions during filtration play critical roles in the oxidative degradation of target pollutants. Long-term operation leads to the deterioration of catalytic activity and transmembrane pressure, especially in the complex water matrix. Finally, the present challenges and future perspectives are presented to improve the anti-fouling performance and catalytic stability of membranes and develop scalable fabrication methods to promote the engineering applications of in situ catalytic oxidation in real water purification.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51608341, 51908394), Jiangsu Province Graduate Practice Innovation Plan project, China (No. SJCX22_1563), Suzhou Science and Technology Development Plan Project, China (No. SYG202141), and Suzhou Construction Technology Project, China (No. SZJ202129503). This study was also supported by the Jiangsu Graduate Student Workstation (Suzhou Hongyu Environment Technology Co., Ltd.), China.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Xin Xia and Junpeng Luo contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 99 Xuefu Road, Suzhou, 215009, People’s Republic of China

    Xin Xia, Junpeng Luo, Dapeng Liu, Tingting Liu & Feiyue Qian

  2. National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, No. 99 Xuefu Road, Suzhou, 215009, People’s Republic of China

    Dapeng Liu, Tingting Liu & Feiyue Qian

  3. Suzhou Hongyu Environment Technology Co., Ltd., No. 198 Xiangyang Road, Suzhou, 215011, People’s Republic of China

    Congyanghui Wu

Authors
  1. Xin Xia
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  2. Junpeng Luo
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  3. Dapeng Liu
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  4. Tingting Liu
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  5. Congyanghui Wu
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  6. Feiyue Qian
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Contributions

Xin Xia: writing—original draft, data curation. Junpeng Luo: writing—original draft, data curation. Dapeng Liu: resources, writing—review and editing. Tingting Liu: resources, writing—review and editing. Congyanghui Wu: data curation. Feiyue Qian: resources, conceptualization, supervision, writing—review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Feiyue Qian.

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Xia, X., Luo, J., Liu, D. et al. Metal-free graphene-based catalytic membranes for persulfate activation toward organic pollutant removal: a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 75184–75202 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23063-z

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