Improved performance of poly(piperazine amide) composite nanofiltration membranes by adding aluminum hydroxide nanospheres

• Nanofiltration membrane was prepared via the addition of Al(OH)3 nanospheres.
• NF membrane had an obviously improved hydrophilicity.
• NF membranes exhibited a remarkable enlargement of flux and MgSO4 rejection.
• The antifouling properties and chlorine resistance of NF membrane were improved.

Thin film composite (TFC) poly(piperazine amide) nanofiltration (NF) membranes were prepared through the incorporation of aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)3) nanospheres in the active layer during the interfacial polymerization (IP) process of piperazine (PIP) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on the polysulfone (PSF) ultrafiltration (UF) support membrane surface. The composition and morphology of resulted NF membrane surface were characterized by means of ATR-FTIR, SEM and AFM. The effects of aluminum hydroxide nanospheres on membrane performance including the hydrophilicity (measured by water contact angle (WCA)), separation performance (i.e., permeability and salt rejection), antifouling properties and chlorine resistance were investigated. The results suggested that the pure water flux of modified composite NF membranes obtained a remarkable enlargement simultaneously with an obvious increase in MgSO4 rejection under the optimal introduction of Al(OH)3. The addition of Al(OH)3 also dramatically enhanced the antifouling properties and the chlorine resistance of origin composite NF membrane. Hydroxide like Al(OH)3 could be considered as a potential modifier to improve the performance of composite NF membranes.

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