Microstructure regulation of polyamide nanocomposite membrane by functional mesoporous polymer for high-efficiency desalination

A review on artificial water channels incorporated polyamide membranes for water purification: Transport mechanisms and performance

While thin-film composite (TFC) polyamide (PA) membranes are advanced for removing salts and trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) from water, TFC PA membranes encounter a water permeance-selectivity trade-off due to PA layer structural characteristics. Drawing inspiration from the excellent water permeance and solute rejection of natural biological channels, the development of analogous artificial water channels (AWCs) in TFC PA membranes (abbreviated as AWCM) promises to achieve superior mass transfer efficiency, enabling breaking the upper bound of water permeance and selectivity. Herein, we first discussed the types and structural characteristics of AWCs, followed by summarizing the methods for constructing AWCM. We discussed whether the AWCs acted as the primary mass transfer channels in AWCM and emphasized the important role of the AWCs in water transport and ion/TrOCs rejection. We thoroughly summarized the molecular-level mechanisms and structure-performance relationship of water molecules, ions, and TrOCs transport in the confined nanospace of AWCs, which laid the foundation for illustrating the enhanced water permeance and salt/TrOCs selectivity of AWCM. Finally, we discussed the challenges encountered in the field of AWCM and proposed future perspectives for practical applications. This review is expected to offer guidance for understanding the transport mechanisms of AWCM and developing next-generation membrane for effective water treatment.

Incorporating Ag@RF core-shell nanomaterials into the thin film nanocomposite membrane to improve permeability and long-term antibacterial properties for nanofiltration

Ag@resorcinol-formaldehyde resin (Ag@RF) core-shell nanomaterials were prepared by Stöber method, and introduced into polyamide (PA) selective layer of thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes through the interfacial polymerization (IP) process. Due to the abundant hydroxyl groups on the surface and suitable particle size, Ag@RF nanoparticles (Ag@RFs) could be uniformly dispersed in the piperazine aqueous solution and participate in the IP process to precisely regulate the microstructure of the PA selective layer. The resulting "crater structure" and irregular granular structure enlarged the permeable area and contributed to the surface hydrophilicity. For the nanofiltration application, the water flux of TFN membrane modified by Ag@RFs to Na₂SO₄ solution reached 150 L·m^-2·h^-1 which was 87.5% greater than TFC, and salt rejection was maintained. The antibacterial efficiency of the prepared TFN membrane on E. coli reached 99.6% in the antibacterial experiment. In addition, due to the special structure of Ag@RFs, the TFN membrane also showed an expected slow-release capability of Ag⁺, allowing for long-term anti-biofouling properties. This work demonstrates that Ag@RF core-shell nanoparticles with high compatibility of organic nanoparticles and antibacterial properties of Ag nanoparticles could be used as promising nanofillers for designing functional nanofiltration TFN membranes.

Coupling solar-driven interfacial evaporation with forward osmosis for continuous water treatment

Forward osmosis (FO) driven by osmotic pressure difference has great potential in water treatment. However, it remains a challenge to maintain a steady water flux at continuous operation. Herein, a FO and photothermal evaporation (PE) coupling system (FO-PE) based on high-performance polyamide FO membrane and photothermal polypyrrole nano-sponge (PPy/sponge) is developed for continuous FO separation with a steady water flux. The PE unit with a photothermal PPy/sponge floating on the surface of draw solution (DS) can continuously in situ concentrate DS by solar-driven interfacial water evaporation, which effectively offsets the dilution effect due to the injected water from FO unit. A good balance between the permeated water in FO and the evaporated water in PE can be established by coordinately regulating the initial concentration of DS and light intensity. As a consequence, the polyamide FO membrane exhibits a steady water flux of 11.7 L m-2 h-1 over time under FO coupling PE condition, effectively alleviating the decline in water flux under FO alone. Additionally, it shows a low reverse salt flux of 3 g m-2 h-1. The FO-PE coupling system utilizing clean and renewable solar energy to achieve a continuous FO separation is significantly meaningful for practical applications.

Organic Nanobowls Modified Thin Film Composite Membrane for Enhanced Purification Performance toward Different Water Resources

The structure and composition of nanofillers have a significant influence on polyamide nanofiltration (NF) membranes. In this work, an asymmetric organic nanobowl containing a concave cavity was synthesized and incorporated into a polyamide layer to prepare thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes via an interfacial polymerization process. Benefiting from the hydrophilicity, hollow cavity and charge property of the compatible organic nanobowls, the separation performance of the developed TFN membrane was significantly improved. The corresponding water fluxes increased to 119.44 ± 5.56, 141.82 ± 3.24 and 130.27 ± 2.05 L/(m²·h) toward Na₂SO₄, MgCl₂ and NaCl solutions, respectively, with higher rejections, compared with the control thin film composite (TFC) and commercial (CM) membranes. Besides this, the modified TFN membrane presented a satisfying purification performance toward tap water, municipal effluent and heavy metal wastewater. More importantly, a better antifouling property of the TFN membrane than TFC and CM membranes was achieved with the assistance of organic nanobowls. These results indicate that the separation performance of the TFN membrane can be elevated by the incorporation of organic nanobowls.

MOF-Mediated Interfacial Polymerization to Fabricate Polyamide Membranes with a Homogeneous Nanoscale Striped Turing Structure for CO2/CH4 Separation

Control of the surface morphology of polyamide membranes fabricated by interfacial polymerization is of great importance in dictating the separation performance. Herein, polyamide membranes with a specific nanoscale striped Turing structure are generated through facile addition of Zr-based metal-organic framework UiO-66-NH₂ in the aqueous triethylenetetramine phase. Interestingly, accompanied by the degradation of UiO-66-NH₂ in aqueous solution, an intermediate complex is in situ formed through the strong interaction between the Zr metal center and the amine group from triethylenetetramine, which can lower amine diffusion and induce a local interfacial reaction, contributing to the generation of a homogeneous nanoscale striped Turing structure. The resulting membranes are used for CO₂/CH₄ gas separation. Compared with the parent polyamide membrane displaying a CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of 43.1 and a CO₂ permeance of 31.5 GPU, the membrane with 0.02 wt % of UiO-66-NH₂ introduced into the aqueous phase shows a higher CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of 58.3, along with a CO₂ permeance of 27.1 GPU. Additionally, when 0.1 wt % of UiO-66-NH₂ is incorporated into the aqueous phase, the membrane exhibits a combination of a higher CO₂/CH₄ selectivity and an enhanced CO₂ permeance in contrast with the parent polyamide membrane.

Influence of incorporating beta zeolite nanoparticles on water permeability and ion selectivity of polyamide nanofiltration membranes

A novel polyamide (PA) thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane modified with Beta (β) zeolite was prepared by interfacial polymerization on a poly (ether sulfone) (PES) ultrafiltration membrane. Compared with the PA thin film composite (TFC) membrane, the introduction of β zeolite with porous structure notably increased the water flux of TFN membrane. Because the β zeolite with tiny-sized and well-defined inner-porous acted as prior flow channels for water molecules and a barrier for the sulfate ions. The successful introduction of β zeolite into the (PA) selective layer and their dispersion in the corresponding layer were verified by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Water contact angle, zeta potential measurements were used to characterize the changes of membrane surface properties before and after incorporating the β zeolite. With the β zeolite introducing, the water contact angle of modified TFN membrane was decreased to 47.8°, which was benefited to improve the water flux. Meanwhile, the negative charges of the modified TFN membrane was increased, resulting in an enhancement of separation effect on SO₄^2- and Cl^-. In term of nanofiltration (NF) experiments, the highest pure water flux of the TFN membranes reached up to 81.22 L m^-2 hr^-1 under operating pressure of 0.2 MPa, which was 2.5 times as much as the pristine TFC membrane.