Influence of copper oxide nanomaterials in a poly(ether sulfone) membrane for improved humic acid and oil–water separation

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this study, self‐synthesized copper(I) oxide (Cu2O) nanoparticles were incorporated in poly(ether sulfone) (PES) mixed‐matrix membranes (MMMs) through the phase‐inversion method. A cubic arrangement and crystallite size of 28 nm was identified by transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) for the as‐synthesized Cu2O particles. The pristine PES membrane had a higher contact angle value of 88.50°, which was significantly reduced up to 50.10° for 1.5 wt % PES/Cu2O MMMs. Moreover, XRD analysis of the Cu2O‐incorporated PES membrane exhibited a new diffraction pattern at 36.46°. This ensured that the Cu2O nanoparticles were distributed well in the PES matrix. Interestingly, the water permeability progressively improved up to 66.72 × 10−9 m s−1 kPa−1 for 1.5 wt % PES/Cu2O MMMs. Furthermore, the membrane performances were also evaluated with different feed solutions: (1) bovine serum albumin, (2) humic acid, and (3) oil–water. The enhanced rejection and lower flux reduction percentage were observed for hybrid membranes. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43873.