Fabrication of Robust Forward Osmosis Membrane by Assembling FeOxCly Nanoparticles

Owing to its inherent advantages like low-energy consumption, low-fouling propensity, and high recovering ability over high-pressure-driven membrane processes, the future of membrane technology is shifting toward forward osmosis (FO). However, the utility of FO in challenging areas is hindered by the lack of suitable FO membranes. Here, the development of innovative FO membranes by depositing weakly magnetic and positively charged FeO_xCl_y nanoparticles on a negatively charged nylon membrane (FeO_x-Nyl) is reported. Remarkably, the FeO_x-Nyl membrane possesses outstanding stability in an aqueous medium and survived in both acidic (pH = 3.3) and basic (pH = 12.2) solutions. Upon varying the loading amount of FeO_xCl_y, the water flux of the FeO_x-Nyl membrane varies from 27.8 to 61.3 LMH (from 5 to 30 mg). Due to its hydrophilic nature, the FeO_x-Nyl membrane exhibits excellent flux recovery rates (FRR), up to ≈70%. The outstanding robustness and high flux of FeO_x-Nyl are exploited in challenging applications like recovering reactive chemical wastes and dehydration of acetic acid.