G-CNTs/PVDF mixed matrix membranes with improved antifouling properties and filtration performance

Highlights

A novel nanocomposite OMWCNT-A-GO was synthesized by conjugating OMWCNT and GO.

The P-OMWCNT-A-GO membrane was fabricated by non-solvent induced phase inversion.

The P-OMWCNT-A-GO exhibits the best water flux, BSA rejection and flux recovery.

It should be due to the enhanced membrane pore size, porosity and hydrophilicity.

Abstract

Although carbon nanomaterials have been widely used as effective nanofillers for fabrication of mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) with outstanding performances, the reproducibility of the fabricated MMMs is still hindered by the non-homogenous dispersion of these carbon nanofillers in membrane substrate. Herein, we report an effective way to improve the compatibility of carbon-based nanomaterials with membrane matrixes. By chemically conjugating the oxidized CNTs (o-CNTs) and GO using hexanediamine as cross-linker, a novel carbon nanohybrid material (G-CNTs) was synthesized, which inherited both the advanced properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene oxide (GO). The G-CNTs incorporated polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) MMMs (G-CNTs/PVDF) were fabricated via a non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) method. The filtration and antifouling performances of G-CNTs/PVDF were evaluated using distillate water and a 1 g/L bovine serum albumin (BSA) aqueous solution under 0.10 MPa. Compared to the MMMs prepared with o-CNTs, GO, the physical mixture of o-CNTs and GO and pure PVDF membrane, the G-CNTs/PVDF membrane exhibited the highest water flux up to 220 L/m²/h and a flux recovery ratio as high as 90%, as well as the best BSA rejection rate. The excellent performances should be attributed to the increased membrane pore size, porosity and hydrophilicity of the resulted membrane. The successful synthesis of the novel nanohybrid G-CNTs provides a new type of nanofillers for MMMs fabrication.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

carbon nanotubes / graphene oxide / mixed matrix membrane / nanohybrid / antifouling membrane / membrane hydrophilicity

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support by the Key Program of Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin City (Grant No. 18JCZDJC39700), the Science and Technology Project of Binhai District of Tianjin (Grant No. BHXQKJXM-PT-ZJSHJ-2017004), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFC0404002) and the 111 Program, Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. T2017002).

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