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 (Fe 3 S 4 ) layer was proposed. As expected, the detachable Fe 3 S 4 layer can efficiently inhibit the severe deposition of foulants via the fantastic magnetic detachable feature. The porous magnetic Fe 3 S 4 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.