Anchoring ZnO Clusters on PAN Nanofiber Membrane by Multiple Impregnation Method and Its Photocatalytic Performance

The polyacrylonitrile(PAN)/ZnCl₂ nanofiber membrane was prepared by electrospinning,which could act as precursors to fabricate different ZnO clusters of PAN/ZnO-1 and PAN/ZnO-2 nanofiber membranes by repeatedly alternating immersion method and single hot/cold impregnation method,respectively.The morphology and microstructure of the nanofiber membranes were characterized by utilizing Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM),Fourier Infrared spectrum(FT-IR),X-Ray Diffraction(XRD),X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy(XPS),and Thermal Gravimetric analyzer(TG).Moreover,methylene blue (MB) was taken as a pollutant model to evaluate the photocatalytic degradation performance of the nanofiber membranes.Results indicated that nanoscaled ZnO clusters were anchored on the surface of PAN fiber by impregnation.Especially,flower-like ZnO particles emerged in the surface of PAN/ZnO-1 nanofibers membrane.And after three cycles,the degradation rate of PAN/ZnO-1 was more than 90%.It is indicated that photocatalytic activity and recycling performance of PAN/ZnO-1were better than those of PAN/ZnO-2.And such factors had influence on the degradation rate of the nanofiber membranes,such as the initial concentration of MB solution,the amount of catalyst and the pH value of dye solution.