Surface modified TiO₂ floating photocatalyst with PDDA for efficient adsorption and photocatalytic inactivation of Microcystis aeruginosa

Microcystis aeruginosa, as the most common cyanobacteria, often grows uncontrollably in eutrophic lakes with the accumulation of microcystin-LR (MC-LR) in water, which heavily pollutes water and hence imposes tremendous threat to aquatic animals and human beings. To remediate the harmful algae polluted water, here we synthesize a series of poly dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride (PDDA) modified TiO₂ floating photocatalysts, PDDA@NPT-EGC, and apply them as a visible light driven multifunctional material. The fabricated PDDA@NPT-EGC composites have a worm-like structure with PDDA particles distributed on their surfaces, and the concentration of PDDA can affect the agglomerative condition and distribution of PDDA particles and the photoelectric properties of catalysts. Among these catalysts, the PDDA@NPT-EGC with 0.2 wt% PDDA (0.2PDDA@NPT-EGC) shows the highest adsorption and photocatalytic activity. Compared with the NPT-EGC, the dark adsorption efficiency for the 0.2PDDA@NPT-EGC after 3 h increases from 70.4% to 88.9%, and the total removal efficiency after visible light irradiation for 2 h increases from 77.8% to 92.6%. In addition, the 0.2PDDA@NPT-EGC exhibits a removal efficiency of 96.55% for photocatalytic degradation of MC-LR after irradiation for 3 h. The Adda side chain of MC-LR molecule is found to degradate gradually in the photocatalytic degradation process, indicative of the elimination of biotoxicity for MC-LR molecule in the reaction. We demonstrate that the 0.2PDDA@NPT-EGC is remarkably competitive in both algae inactivation and MC-LR removal, which shall hold substantial promise in remediation of algae pollution in eutrophic waters.