Realizing Mussel-Inspired Polydopamine Selective Layer with Strong Solvent Resistance in Nanofiltration toward Sustainable Reclamation

Abstract

Herein, a mussel-inspired polydopamine (PDA) coating layer has been first explored as a separating layer for organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN). A PDA based separating layer was constructed on polyimide (PI) support via dopamine coating. The subsequent membrane was then treated with 1,6-hexanediamine for cross-linking on both the PDA layer and PI support. Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) results indicated the deposition of PDA on support and the cross-linked structures of both PDA and PI. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), water contact angle, and surface energy measurements were further employed to characterize the morphologies and surface properties of the composite membranes. After an optimized coating time of 4 h, the resultant membrane showed an EtOH permeance of 0.91 L m–2 h–1 bar–1 and a RB rejection of 99%. More importantly, the composite membrane also exhibited good performance for dyes separation from a wide range of solvents i...