Novel electrospun membranes based on PVDF fibers embedding lanthanide doped ZnO for adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of dye organic pollutants

[Display omitted] •PVDF/ZnO:Ln (Sm, La, Er) membranes were obtained by electrospinning method.•The highest photocatalytic efficiency of 96.33 % for MB and 93.36 % for RhB were recorded.•The phtodegradation kinetics were assessed.•The calculated values of the rate constants were between 10−3 and 10−2 min−1.•The materials could be reused after ten repeating cycles with the photocatalytic activity up to 98 %. New hybrid materials based on lanthanide (Ln) doped ZnO nanoparticles (Ln=Sm,La,Er) reinforced in PVDF membranes were prepared by electrospinning method, materials that have not been reported so far. Photocatalysts with 22 % and 37 % content of inorganic nanostructures for degradation of some organic dyes (Methylene Blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB)) under visible light irradiation were obtained. The materials were evaluated in terms of crystalline structure (XRD), surface morphology (SEM), mechanical and adsorption/desorption properties. The highest values of the color removal efficiency were observed for PVDF/ZnO:La (37 %) membrane, and they were of 96.33 % for MB dye degradation, and 93.36 % for RhB degradation, respectively. Depending on the material type and initial dye concentration, the rate constant values were between 10−3 and 10−2 min−1. Moreover, photocatalytic stability was determined for PVDF/ZnO:La (37 %) after ten cycles (98 %), indicating that recovery and reuse can be done successfully.