TY - JOUR
T1 - Zwitterion-Grafted 2D MXene (Ti3C2TX) Nanocomposite Membranes with Improved Water Permeability and Self-Cleaning Properties
AU - Kallem, Parashuram
AU - Elashwah, Nadeen
AU - Bharath, G.
AU - Hegab, Hanaa M.
AU - Hasan, Shadi W.
AU - Banat, Fawzi
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a grant (Award no. RC2- 2018-009) from the Center for Membranes and Advanced Water Technology (CMAT) funded by Khalifa University of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi (UAE).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.
PY - 2023/1/13
Y1 - 2023/1/13
N2 - The development of chemically and mechanically stable nanocomposite membranes with high permeability and self-cleaning properties is important for various wastewater treatment applications. Two-dimensional MXene (Ti3C2Tx) nanomaterials have attracted increasing research interest in various applications, including membrane-based separation technologies for wastewater treatment. Zwitterion functionalization has been widely used for the surface modification of hydrophilic materials to improve the anti-fouling capability. In this research, an MXene nanocomposite functionalized with a zwitterion was prepared and used as a nanofiller for the development of highly permeable membranes with self-cleaning properties. The composite membrane was prepared by incorporating a zwitterion-grafted MXene (Z-MXene) nanocomposite into polyethersulfone (PES) via a non-solvent-induced phase separation process. The incorporation of Z-MXene nanocomposite particles into PES improved the porosity, mean pore radius, hydrophilicity, and tensile strength of the hybrid membranes. The flux of the developed PES/Z-MXene membrane was nearly 3.1 times higher than that of the pristine PES membrane. The rejection rates of three representative species of natural organic matter in raw water (bovine serum albumin, humic acid, and sodium alginate) were more than 93%. The abundant functional groups and negative charge on the Z-MXene surface also improved dye separation (∼275 and ∼400% enhancement for Congo red and methylene blue dyes, respectively) while maintaining a high water flux. Furthermore, the PES/Z-MXene membrane exhibited the best flux recovery ratio, best reversible fouling ratio, and low irreversible fouling ratio, indicating its self-cleaning properties. In addition, the composite membrane has significant chemical stability, as demonstrated by its high corrosion resistance during long-term treatment with 2 M HCl and oxidant (NaOCl) solutions. This study provides a MXene nanocomposite for the development of high-performance composite membranes with self-cleaning properties.
AB - The development of chemically and mechanically stable nanocomposite membranes with high permeability and self-cleaning properties is important for various wastewater treatment applications. Two-dimensional MXene (Ti3C2Tx) nanomaterials have attracted increasing research interest in various applications, including membrane-based separation technologies for wastewater treatment. Zwitterion functionalization has been widely used for the surface modification of hydrophilic materials to improve the anti-fouling capability. In this research, an MXene nanocomposite functionalized with a zwitterion was prepared and used as a nanofiller for the development of highly permeable membranes with self-cleaning properties. The composite membrane was prepared by incorporating a zwitterion-grafted MXene (Z-MXene) nanocomposite into polyethersulfone (PES) via a non-solvent-induced phase separation process. The incorporation of Z-MXene nanocomposite particles into PES improved the porosity, mean pore radius, hydrophilicity, and tensile strength of the hybrid membranes. The flux of the developed PES/Z-MXene membrane was nearly 3.1 times higher than that of the pristine PES membrane. The rejection rates of three representative species of natural organic matter in raw water (bovine serum albumin, humic acid, and sodium alginate) were more than 93%. The abundant functional groups and negative charge on the Z-MXene surface also improved dye separation (∼275 and ∼400% enhancement for Congo red and methylene blue dyes, respectively) while maintaining a high water flux. Furthermore, the PES/Z-MXene membrane exhibited the best flux recovery ratio, best reversible fouling ratio, and low irreversible fouling ratio, indicating its self-cleaning properties. In addition, the composite membrane has significant chemical stability, as demonstrated by its high corrosion resistance during long-term treatment with 2 M HCl and oxidant (NaOCl) solutions. This study provides a MXene nanocomposite for the development of high-performance composite membranes with self-cleaning properties.
KW - corrosion resistance
KW - high permeability
KW - hydrophilicity
KW - self-cleaning
KW - two-dimensional MXene
KW - zwitterion-grafted MXene nanocomposites
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85145735520&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acsanm.2c04722
DO - 10.1021/acsanm.2c04722
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85145735520
SN - 2574-0970
VL - 6
SP - 607
EP - 621
JO - ACS Applied Nano Materials
JF - ACS Applied Nano Materials
IS - 1
ER -