To further explore macroscopic applications of 2D materials, an essential prerequisite is controlled large-scale assembly of 2D building blocks into macroscopic 3D architectures with the preservation of their intrinsic properties. In recent years, direct ink writing(DIW), an extrusion-based 3D printing technique, has emerged as a promising method for the manufacturing of 3D engineered materials with superior properties and multifunctionality . Here we propose a 3D printing strategy for the fabrication of 3D free-standing carbon-nitride based hybrid aerogel membrane with designed periodic structure on a macroscopic scale. g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4 </sub>nanosheets(CNNS) are used as building blocks with additives to tailor the rheological behavior of the composite ink. The resulting hybrid aerogel exhibits strong adsorption capacity and high photocatalytic activity for cationic dyes. Because of its freestanding bulk structure, the hybrid aerogel can be easily separated from cleaned water and cleaned for long-term cycling. These features, along with high tunability in shape and porosity, make the 3D printed hybrid aerogel a promising candidate for solar wastewater treatment, as well as other applications in photocatalytic fields. Furthermore, this method also has the potential to be applied to the assembly of other 2D materials into large-scale 3D networks with designed architectures, opening up opportunities for an even wider range of applications.

3D printing of patterned hybrid aerogel membrane for broadband solar wastewater purification

255th National Meeting (2018)

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