BiOX (X = Cl, Br, I)/WO₃/Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibrous Membranes for Diagnostic X-Ray Shielding and Visible-Light Photocatalysis

Facing high-energy radiation exposure in many different situations, researchers are focused on developing personal protective equipment against high-energy rays. The design and fabrication of low-density, self-standing, nontoxic, and flexible high-energy ray shielding materials have always been a hot issue in the special equipment manufacturing industry. As key raw materials for high-efficiency X-ray shielding, high-Z element compounds are nonrenewable resources. Therefore, their development and application require far-sighted arrangement. In this work, we demonstrate an easy and general fabrication route of multifunctional high-Z element compounds/polymer nanofibrous membranes through electrospinning and subsequent solvothermal and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction processes. The as-fabricated BiOX (X = Cl, Br, I)/WO3/PAN nanofibrous membrane exhibits an excellent X-ray shielding capability with a mass attenuation coefficient of 3.55 cm2 g–1 at 83 keV and could achieve a balanced shielding performance by the introduction of inexpensive iodine elements. Additionally, the self-standing hybrid nanofibrous membrane also exhibits remarkable visible-light photocatalytic activities to degrade RhB in aqueous solution, showing potential in water treatment application and providing an efficient and economical route for the development, usage, recycling, and reuse of precious high-Z material-based composites.