Nwafor Nkechi P, Moutloali Richard M, Sikhwivhilu Keneiloe, Familoni Oluwole B, Adams Luqman A
Materials and Nanochemistry, University of Lagos, Lagos 101212, Nigeria.
DSI/Mintek Nanotechnology Innovation Centre-UJ Water Research Node, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa.
Membranes (Basel). 2021 May 15;11(5):361. doi: 10.3390/membranes11050361.
Engineered nanoparticles are known to boost membrane performance in membrane technology. Hitherto, tunable properties that lead to improved hydrophilicity due to increased surface oxygen functionalities upon oxidation of petrol soot have not been fully exploited in membrane filtration technology. Herein, the integration of oxidized petrol soot nanoparticles (PSN) into polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membranes produced via phase inversion technique for dye removal in wastewater is reported. The nanoparticles, as well as the composite membranes, were characterized with diverse physicochemical methods, particularly TEM, SEM, BET, AFM, contact angle, etc. The effect of varying the ratio of PSN (0.05-1.0 wt %) on the properties of the composite membrane was evaluated. The composite membranes displayed increased hydrophilicity, enhanced pure water flux, and antifouling properties relative to the pristine membrane. For example, the obtained pure water flux increased from 130 L·m·h for base membrane to 265 L·m·h for the best composite membrane (M4). The best flux recovery ratio (FRR) observed for the membranes containing PSN was ca. 80% in contrast to 49% obtained with the pristine membrane indicative of the positive influence of PSN on membrane antifouling behavior. Furthermore, the PSN composite membranes displayed relatively selective anionic dye rejection of ˃95% for Congo red and between 50-71% for methyl orange compared with 42-96% rejection obtained for cationic methylene blue dye with increasing PSN content. The successful fabrication of polyethersulfone-PSN composite membranes by a simple blending process opens a novel route for the preparation of economical, functional, and scalable water purification membranes capable of addressing the complex issue of water remediation of organic azo dyes.
已知工程纳米颗粒可提高膜技术中的膜性能。迄今为止，由于汽油烟灰氧化后表面氧官能团增加而导致亲水性提高的可调谐特性在膜过滤技术中尚未得到充分利用。在此，报道了将氧化汽油烟灰纳米颗粒（PSN）集成到通过相转化技术制备的聚醚砜超滤膜中，用于去除废水中的染料。采用多种物理化学方法对纳米颗粒以及复合膜进行了表征，特别是透射电子显微镜（TEM）、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、比表面积分析仪（BET）、原子力显微镜（AFM）、接触角等。评估了改变PSN比例（0.05 - 1.0 wt%）对复合膜性能的影响。相对于原始膜，复合膜表现出增加的亲水性、提高的纯水通量和抗污染性能。例如，获得的纯水通量从基膜的130 L·m⁻²·h增加到最佳复合膜（M4）的265 L·m⁻²·h。含PSN的膜观察到的最佳通量恢复率（FRR）约为80%，而原始膜为49%，这表明PSN对膜抗污染行为有积极影响。此外，PSN复合膜对刚果红显示出相对选择性的阴离子染料截留率>95%，对甲基橙截留率在50 - 71%之间，而随着PSN含量增加，对阳离子亚甲基蓝染料的截留率为42 - 96%。通过简单的共混工艺成功制备聚醚砜 - PSN复合膜，为制备经济、功能性和可扩展的水净化膜开辟了一条新途径，能够解决有机偶氮染料水修复的复杂问题。
