A new strategy in developing antifouling membranes: pulling out carrots and mud coming with

Abstract Membrane filtration is a promising solution to solve the fresh water scarcity issue and wastewater remediation; however, the fouling problem cannot be avoided. Antifouling and effective cleaning are the key methods to recover the membrane performance and achieve the stable filtration; whereas it is a great challenge to realize the harmless defouling or to reduce frequent replacement of membrane units. In this work, a breakthrough concept of “fouling-detachable” composite membrane consisting of tubular magnetic membrane body (polyvinylidene fluoride nanofiber membrane reinforced by magnetic polyester braided tube, MTNM) encapsulated by the magnetic photocatalyst (Fe3S4) layer was proposed. As expected, the detachable Fe3S4 layer can efficiently inhibit the severe deposition of foulants via the fantastic magnetic detachable feature. The porous magnetic Fe3S4 is a multifunctional catalyst, which can also be used for photocatalysis or peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to induce rich reactive oxygen species (ROS) for various organic pollutant degradation. Our study provides a new universal strategy for membrane design by coupling magnetic properties and catalysis with microfiltration to achieve ultrahigh antifouling property and maintain water flux.