Incorporation of MIL-101(Fe)/Tannic acid-PEG to PES-TPU blend membrane to modify a membrane with riveting mechanical stability and separation performance

Abstract

A certain amount of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) was added to polyethersulfone (PES) to ensure higher mechanical stability. The tannic acid-polyethylene glycol (TA-PEG) and aminated metal‐organic framework-101 (Fe) (MIL-101(Fe)) were incorporated into the membrane matrix separately, then an equal mass ratio of each was incorporated into the membrane matrix, and the results were compared. The optimized membrane with dual nanoparticles elucidates a high-water permeation rate that reached 8.12 L/m2.h.bar, which is almost 4 times higher than the PES-TPU pristine membrane. The optimum membrane provided a high dye rejection property (98.3 ± 0.4 %, 98.9 ± 0.3 %, 99.0 ± 0.3 %, 99.4 ± 0.2 %, and 99.7 ± 0.2 %) for Methylene Blue (MB), Crystal Violet (CV), Methyl Green (MG), Direct Red-16 (DR-16), and Direct Yellow-29 (DY-29), respectively. Subsequently, significant antifouling features (FRR = 91.2 % for the optimized membrane) were obtained, and irreversible fouling dropped remarkably. The long-term water permeation and rejection rates were also investigated, and it was found that the optimized membrane enhanced in both, where even after 10 days, the optimized membrane maintained its initial rejection rate for all tested dyes.