Anti-Fouling Polysulfone-Graphene Oxide Ultrafiltration Membrane with High Capability in Water/Oil Emulsion Separation

This study aimed to synthesize graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles and subsequently modify them with trimethylsilyl chloride (TMSCl). The modified GO was employed in the fabrication of a polysulfone-graphene oxide (PSf-GO) ultrafiltration mixed-matrix membrane for oil and water separation. PSf-GO ultrafiltration mixed-matrix membranes were fabricated using different amounts of modified GO. The structure, properties, and characteristics of the synthesized GO and fabricated membranes were studied using various techniques, including contact angle measurements, atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The performance of the membranes in the separation of oil and water and their antifouling affinities were evaluated and compared. Contact angle measurements indicated that the addition of GO nanoparticles increased the hydrophilicity of the membranes. The UF-0.50 (0.50%Wt GO@TMSCl) membrane demonstrated a water flux of 113.35 L/m² h and oil rejection of 97.44% during the ultrafiltration process, representing the highest performance among the fabricated membranes. Membrane fouling analysis revealed that this membrane performed better than the others, which could be attributed to the proper and uniform nanoparticle loading. The most favorable UF membrane antifouling performance was observed for the UF-0.5 membrane with a flux recovery percentage of 96.30%. Because of the efficient and appropriate performance of the UF-0.5 membrane, it was revealed that this membrane can be used as an effective UF membrane for the oil-water separation process, as well as in further studies.

Graphical Abstract