Mechanism for regulation of a forward osmosis membrane by the SA/UiO-66-NH2 composite interlayer and the resulting lithium ion concentration performance

Abstract

The traditional thin-film composite (TFC) forward osmosis (FO) membrane has problems such as poor water permeability and low lithium concentration selectivity because the separation layer is too thick and has many defect pores. In this study, a thin and dense separation layer was obtained by constructing a sodium alginate (SA)/UiO-66-NH2 interlayer to control the attachment amount and diffusion rate of m-phenylenediamine (MPD), which enhanced the performance of the membrane. This paper studies the effect and mechanism of the interlayer on the structure and separation performance of the FO membrane, and explores the lithium ion concentration performance of the interlayer membrane. According to the results, based on the strong interaction between the interlayer and MPD, the equilibrium concentration of MPD available for interfacial polymerization was increased and the diffusion rate of MPD was slowed, resulting in the generation of a thin and dense separation layer. Since the interlayer restricted the escape of bubbles formed in the interfacial polymerization, the separation layer showed a leaf-like structure with increased filtration area and water storage space. Due to the reduced thickness of the separation layer and its leaf-like structures, the water flux increased significantly, and the water flux of the interlayer membrane was 47.9% greater than that of the original membrane. Drawing upon the heightened density of the separation layer and secondary separation of the interlayer, the reverse solute flux was lowered by 37.4%. The interlayer membrane exhibited efficient Li+ rejection (R>93%) and the concentration ratio of Li+ was close to its theoretical concentration ratio at 1.46 ± 0.03.