Fabrication and Application of Photocatalytic Composites and Water Treatment Facility Based on 3D Printing Technology

Currently, the degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater by photocatalytic technology has attracted great attention. In this study, a new type of 3D printing material with photocatalytic activity was first prepared to print a water treatment equipment, and then a layer of silver-loaded TiO₂ was coated on the equipment to further improve the catalytic degradation performance. The composite filaments with a diameter of 1.75 ± 0.05 mm were prepared by a melt blending method, which contained 10 wt% of modified TiO₂ and 90 wt% of PLA. The silver-loaded TiO₂ was uniformly coated on the equipment through a UV-curing method. The final results showed that those modified particles were uniformly dispersed in the PLA matrix. The stable printing composite filaments could be produced when 10 wt% TiO₂ was added to the PLA matrix. Moreover, the photocatalytic degradation performance could be effectively improved after 5 wt% of silver loading was added. This novel facility showed good degradability of organic compounds in wastewater and bactericidal effect, which had potential applications for the drinking water treatment in the future.