In-situ chemical formation of strong stability GO/rGO hybrid membranes for efficient treatment of organic pollutant

Abstract

In this study, a strong stability graphene oxide (GO)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrid membranes were successfully prepared by in-situ chemical reduction method. As the reducing agent, ammonia can effectively promote the deoxygenation of GO surface and the restoration of π-conjugation to produce rGO sheets. Moreover, the weakening of hydration and the enhancement of π-π conjugation promoted the interlayer force of GO/rGO membranes; as a result, the hybrid membranes exhibited extraordinary stability in strong acid and alkali solutions. In organic dyes separation application, the hybrid membranes displayed excellent rejection performance, and the rejection rate up to 100%. In addition, they also showed higher water flux (23.72 L m-2h−1 bar−1) comparing to pristine GO membranes (14.35 L m-2h−1 bar−1) and rGO membrane (8.66 L m-2h−1 bar−1). This work will promote the application scope of graphene-based membranes and provide better performance in water treatment.