Abstract
Electrospun nanofiber mats (ENMs) are desired candidates as supports for composite forward osmosis (FO) membranes owning to the high porosity and low tortuosity of pores. However, it remains challenge to construct defect-free thin selective layer on ENMs controllably to achieve simultaneous high permeability and selectivity. In order to meet the demands, a novel thin film composite (TFC) FO membrane was fabricated via interfacial polymerization on a polydopamine (PDA) modified ENM substrate (PDA-HPENM), which was hot-pressed (HPENMs) prior to the PDA deposition to improve the mechanical strength and reduce the mat thickness. The internal concentration polarization (ICP) effects and the transmembrane resistance in FO membranes are reduced significantly attributed to the unique pore structure and good hydrophilicity of the PDA-HPENMs, resulting in doubled water flux compared with that of the TFC membranes using HPENM substrates. Moreover, the optimized TFC FO membranes exhibit relatively high rejection (~100%) to heavy metal ions and antibiotics, holding great potential for wastewater treatment.
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