Two dimensional laminar MoS2 modified PTMSP membranes with improved organic solvent nanofiltration performance

Abstract

Solvent resistant nanofiltration membranes with both improved permeability and long-term stability are in desperate demand for organic solvent recovery. In this study, a high-performance molybdenum sulfide (MoS2)-poly-trimethylsilylpropyne (PTMSP) nanocomposite membrane was prepared on polysulfone (PSf) through a facile solution casting method, which was used for efficient organic solvent recovery. Two-dimensional (2D) MoS2 was employed to construct interlayer channels that facilitated the passage of solvents and blocked small molecule solutes. Compared with the pristine PTMSP membrane, the methanol permeance of modified membrane increased by 47% (5.89 L m−2 h−1 bar−1) while remaining the retention rate of RB of 97.14%. The obtained membrane exhibited superior mechanical strength as well as excellent stability. Moreover, the resultant membrane also showed more precise molecular sieving capability than most reported polymer membranes. This work demonstrated that incorporating 2D MoS2 nanosheets into PTMSP polymer is a promising method to obtain organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes with excellent separation performance and favorable long-term stability.