Graphene oxide modified polyamide nanofiltration membrane with improved flux and antifouling properties

Organic-inorganic hybrid materials are considered the most promising candidates in the preparation of nanofiltration (NF) membranes. The incorporation of nano-particles in a polymer matrix has provided a new approach for the preparation of membranes with enhanced permeability, high selectivity and improved anti-fouling properties. In this study, polyamide (PA) nanofiltration (NF) membranes embedded with various graphene oxide (GO) contents to improve the membrane flux and anti-fouling properties are proposed and successfully prepared for desalination applications. The prepared PA/GO membranes exhibited much higher flux than did pristine PA membranes. A twelve-fold increase in water flux, with a negligible change in salt rejection, was observed after incorporating GO (0.2 wt%) in the PA membrane. Addition of GO also provided a significant improvement in the anti-fouling property of the membrane due to an increase in the hydrophilicity of the membrane. These results indicate that incorporation of GO into a PA membrane can effectively enhance its hydrophilicity and consequently improve its flux and antifouling properties. Because no deleterious effect on the performance of the PA membrane was observed from this modification, this concept provides an effective way to develop high performance NF membranes with greater stability.