A self-cleaning photocatalytic composite membrane based on g-C3N4@MXene nanosheets for the removal of dyes and antibiotics from wastewater

[Display omitted] •Novel g-C3N4@MXene/PES photocatalytic composite membrane were fabricated.•High permeability and outstanding removal for dyes and antibiotics were achieved.•The membranes showed self-cleaning and anti-fouling properties for water treatment. The present paper deals with the coupling the advantages of photocatalysis and membrane technology in order to resolve the issue of membrane fouling without any compromise on separation characteristics. The g-C3N4 (CN) nanosheets have been used to modify two-dimensional (2D) MXene membrane, to obtain novel g-C3N4@MXene/PES (CN-MX) photocatalytic composite membrane through vacuum filtration for wastewater treatment. The 2D materials and membranes have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to evidence successful modification. The CN-MX composite membrane exhibited higher permeability than that of pure MXene membrane, which achieved a maximum permeability of 1790 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1. The composite membrane also showed a fabulous removal ratio for different organic pollutants: 98 % for Congo red (CR), 96 % for Trypan blue (TB) and 86 % for Tetracycline hydrochloride (TC), respectively. The best performed membrane (M3) was found to sustain three consecutive separation cycles without any performance deterioration and thereby, confirming a significant improvement in anti-fouling characteristic of the membrane.