PPO/ZnO Composite Fibers for the Photocatalytic Degradation of Triton X-100 in Water

The discharge of nonionic surfactants into aquatic environments poses a significant environmental challenge due to their persistence and potential ecological impact. In this work, porous PPO/ZnO composite fibers were fabricated through a simple shear-spinning process and evaluated for the photocatalytic degradation of Triton X-100 under UV irradiation. Structural and morphological characterization confirmed the successful incorporation of ZnO particles into the porous PPO matrix while preserving their crystalline wurtzite structure. Nitrogen adsorption analysis revealed that the composite retained a highly porous mesostructure, providing a suitable support for the immobilized photocatalyst. The combined contribution of surfactant adsorption by the porous PPO matrix and photocatalytic oxidation by ZnO enabled complete removal of Triton X-100 within 1 h of UV irradiation and a mineralization efficiency of 68% after 6 h. Notably, this performance was achieved with an effective ZnO concentration of only 0.24 g L−1, compared with 3 g L−1 used for the commercial ZnO suspension, which reached 19% mineralization under the investigated conditions. The PPO/ZnO composite fibers also demonstrated excellent operational stability, retaining approximately 95% removal efficiency and 64% mineralization efficiency after five consecutive photocatalytic cycles. Furthermore, the material remained highly effective in drinking water, achieving more than 85% Triton X-100 removal despite the presence of common inorganic ions. These results demonstrate that shear-spun PPO/ZnO composite fibers are promising reusable photocatalytic materials for the treatment of surfactant-contaminated water, combining high photocatalytic efficiency with simple recovery and good performance under realistic operating conditions.