CuWO4/Ti3C2 MXene Heterostructure: Fabrication and Immobilization into a Photocatalytic PVDF Membrane

Pollution of water caused by organic contaminants is a significant global environmental concern that has paid increasing attention. Polymeric photocatalytic membranes (PPMs) are attracting significant attention for their role in water purification, with benefits of both photocatalysis and membrane separation. In this study, we synthesized a hybrid CuWO₄/Ti₃C₂ MXene heterojunction and immobilized the as-prepared photocatalyst into a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane using phase inversion method to fabricate a photocatalytic membrane system. The CuWO₄/Ti₃C₂ heterostructure, prepared by the hydrothermal method, and immobilized CuWO₄/Ti₃C₂/PVDF membrane exhibit a significant activity in photocatalytic MB degradation performance which is 1.82 and 1.66 times higher than that of pure ones, respectively. This improvement is attributed to the energy band structure of the Schottky heterojunction, leads to enhanced charge transfer efficiency of photo-induced electrons from CuWO₄ to Ti₃C₂ and reduced electron–hole recombination, confirmed by Mott–Schottky and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Based on the obtained results, the immobilized CuWO₄/Ti₃C₂/PVDF membrane with a satisfactory reusability can be considered as a promising polymeric photocatalytic membrane for water treatment applications.