Superhydrophilic nanofiltration membrane with antifouling property through in-situ mineralization of Ce 2 (CO 3 ) 3 nanoparticles

Abstract

Abstract A superhydrophilic poly (ethyleneimine)/poly (acrylicacid) PEI/PAA-Cerium carbonate (Ce2(CO3)3) composite membrane was fabricated through layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly and in-situ mineralization of Ce2(CO3)3. The surface structures, wetting behavior and NF performance of the membranes were investigated. The results indicated that the water contact angle of [PEI/PAA-Ce2(CO3)]3.0 membrane decreased with increasing incorporated Ce2(CO3)3 content. Under 0.025 mol/L of Ce2(CO3)3 content, the prepared membrane showed superhydrophilic surface with water contact angle of 3.1°, which can effectively separate methyl blue, xylenol orange and eriochrome black T from aqueous solution with rejection of more than 95% and flux of more than 152.0 L/m2 MPa h, respectively. In addition, the superhydrophilic membrane showed better long-term running stability, and antifouling property. After 3 cycle of running and cleaning, the flux recovery rate was about 85%, and the irreversible flux decay rate was 14.53%. Moreover, the Derjaguin Landau Verwey Overbeek (XDLVO) approach further demonstrated that the superhydrophilic membrane showed higher antifouling property than the hydrophilic one.