Mesoporous Nanosheets Research Articles

Efficient hybrid supercapacitor performance enabled by large surface area of 2D mesoporous zinc sulfide nano-sheets synthesized via microwaves

Researchers have shown a significant amount of interest in synthesizing high energy density supercapacitors using a simplest, fast, and low cost technique. The electrochemical performance of supercapacitors can be impacted by the surface area and morphology of electrode materials. A one-step, rapid, and economical microwave-assisted synthesis technique was employed in this study in order to prepare mesoporous nanosheets that are composed of zinc sulfide. The ZnS-based nanosheets possess a large surface area of ∼120 m2g−1 and a mesoporous structure of a pore diameter of <22 nm, which offers numerous electrochemical active sites and it facilitates an excellent super capacitive performance, which is due to its shortened ion/electron diffusion path. The prepared mesoporous nanosheets exhibit a higher specific capacitance of 2282 Fg−1 (1037 C/g) when subjected to a 1 Ag−1 in 2 M KOH aqueous electrolyte with high capability rate. The fabricated device exhibits a high specific capacitance of 252.5 Fg−1 (140 C/g) at 1 Ag−1, which produces a remarkable energy density of about 90 Whkg−1 at 800 Wkg−1 value of power density and an excellent retention of ∼95 % after 10,000 cycles at 6 Ag−1. This study designed an instant, straightforward and low-cost approach to fabricate ZnS nanosheet electrode materials that exhibit excellent performance for supercapacitor applications.

Unraveling the Nanosheet Zeolite-Catalyzed Combustion of Aluminum Nanoparticles-Doped exo-Tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene (JP-10) Energetic Fuel.

Nanosheet MFI zeolites (Zeolite Socony Mobil, five) have grown in popularity in cracking catalysis considering their tunability in porous topologies, acidic sites, and sheet thickness, thus allowing them to selectively adsorb molecules of specific sizes, shapes, and polarities, resulting in improved cracking performance for a specific fuel. Five different MFI zeolites in the form of a mesoporous nanosheet structure with a controlled concentration of acidic sites denoted as NSMFI(y), where y is Si/Al ratio, have been synthesized. The effects of the relative acidity content of these NSMFI(y) samples on the zeolite-catalyzed combustion of aluminum nanoparticles (AlNPs)-aided exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene (JP-10) mixed energetic fuel droplets levitated in an oxygen-argon atmosphere were investigated using time-resolved imaging (optical and thermal infrared) and spectroscopic techniques (UV-vis and FTIR). The addition of 1.0 wt % of NSMFI(y) zeolites to AlNPs-JP-10 fluid fuel results in critically reduced ignition delays (9 ± 2 ms), elevated ignition temperatures (2800 ± 170 K), and prolonged burning times (60 ± 10 ms) with an enhanced combustion efficiency. The NSMFI(y) zeolites, which possess high acidity and significant mesoporosity, play a crucial role in improving the combustion efficiency by effectively catalyzing the chemical activation of JP-10 and prolonging the burning of the igniting droplet. The NSMFI (60) variant with the highest acidic site content achieved a maximum combustion efficiency of 80 ± 6%. A comprehensive catalytic combustion mechanism has been elucidated based on the detected reactive intermediates such as hydroxyl radical (OH) and aluminum monoxide (AlO). These findings will help to critically advance the development of next-generation, sustainable, and innovative mixed nanofluid fuels.

2D PtRhPb Mesoporous Nanosheets with Surface-Clean Active Sites for Complete Ethanol Oxidation Electrocatalysis.

The development of active and selective metal electrocatalysts for complete ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) into desired C1 products is extremely promising for practical application of direct ethanol fuel cells. Despite some encouraging achievements, their activity and selectivity remain unsatisfactory. In this work, it is reported that 2D PtRhPb mesoporous nanosheets (MNSs) with anisotropic structure and surface-clean metal siteperform perfectly for complete EOR electrocatalysis in both three-electrode and two-electrode systems. Different to the traditional routes, a selective etching strategy is developed to produce surface-clean mesopores while retaining parent anisotropy quasi-single-crystalline structure without the mesopore-forming surfactants. This method also allows the general synthesis of surface-clean mesoporous metals with other compositions and structures. When being performed for alkaline EOR electrocatalysis, the best PtRhPb MNSs deliver remarkably high activity (7.8 A mg-1) and superior C1 product selectivity (70% of Faradaic efficiency), both of which are much better than reported electrocatalysts. High performance is assigned to multiple structural and compositional synergies that not only stabilized key OHads intermediate by surface-clean mesopores but also separated the chemisorption of two carbons in ethanol by adjacent Pt and Rh sites, which facilitate the oxidation cleavage of stable C─C bond for complete EOR electrocatalysis.

2D/3D hierarchical porous structure of mNPC/SMOH@C to construct an electrochemical sensor for the simultaneous determination of p-acetylaminophenol and p-aminophenol

BackgroundAs persistent organic pollutants (POPs), the accumulation of p-acetylaminophenol (PAT) and p-aminophenol (PAP) in water can seriously damage the health of plants and animals, ultimately leading to threats to human health and safety. Electrochemical sensors have the advantages of being fast, inexpensive, and accurate compared to the complex, expensive, and cumbersome conventional analytical methods. In this study, we designed and synthesized composites with two-dimensional/three-dimensional (2D/3D) porous structures to construct an efficient electrochemical platform for the simultaneous detection of PAT and PAP. ResultsIn this work, a novel 3D foamy birnessite Na0.55Mn2O4·1.5H2O@C (SMOH@C) was synthesized, which was composited with 2D ordered mesoporous nanosheets (mNPC) to construct electrochemical sensors detecting PAT and PAP simultaneously. The prepared 2D/3D porous structure of mNPC/SMOH@C increased the exposure of active sites due to its large specific surface area. The introduction of a 3D carbon skeleton altered the charge transfer rate of SMOH@C, and the rich pore structure and oxygen-rich vacancies created favorable conditions for the diffusion and adsorption of PAP and PAT, which enabled the sensitive detection of PAT and PAP. The constructed mNPC/SMOH@C electrochemical sensor could simultaneously detect PAT (1 × 10−7 - 1 × 10−4 M) and PAP (5 × 10−8 - 1 × 10−4 M) with detection limits of 20.4 nM and 30.1 nM, respectively. The sensor has good repeatability (RSD <4 %) and reproducibility (RSD <4 %), and satisfactory recoveries (96.7–102.8 %) were obtained in the analysis of natural water samples. SignificanceIn this paper, for the first time, we present the synthesis of 3D foam birnessite and its composite with mNPC for the electrochemical simultaneous detection of PAT and PAP. Our proposed strategy for fabricating 2D/3D porous composites lays the foundation for the design and synthesis of other porous materials. In addition, this study provides new ideas for developing efficient and practical electrochemical sensors for detecting pollutants in aquatic environments.

Facile Synthesis of Oxygen-Doped g-C3N4 Mesoporous Nanosheets for Significant Enhancement of Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Performance.

In this work, oxygen-doped g-C3N4 mesoporous nanosheets (O-CNS) were synthesized via a facile recrystallization method with the assistance of H2O2. The crystal phase, chemical composition, morphological structure, optical property, electronic structure and electrochemical property of the prepared O-CNS samples were well investigated. The morphological observation combined with the nitrogen adsorption-desorption results demonstrated that the prepared O-CNS samples possessed nanosheet-like morphology with a porous structure. Doping O into g-C3N4 resulted in the augmentation of the specific surface area, which could provide more active sites for photocatalytic reactions. Simultaneously, the visible light absorption capacity of O-CNS samples was boosted owing to the regulation of O doping. The built energy level induced by the O doping could accelerate the migration rate of photoinduced carriers, and the porous structure was most likely to speed up the release of hydrogen during the photocatalytic hydrogen process. Resultantly, the photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of the optimized oxygen-doped g-C3N4 nanosheets reached up to 2012.9 μmol·h-1·g-1, which was 13.4 times higher than that of bulk g-C3N4. Thus, the significantly improved photocatalytic behavior was imputed to the synergistic effect of the porous structure, the increase in active sites, and the enhancement of visible light absorption and charge separation efficiency. Our research highlights that the synergistic effect caused by element doping will make a great contribution to the remarkable improvement in photocatalytic activity, providing a new inspiration for the construction of novel catalysts.

Ce4+-Doped CuO Mesoporous Nanosheets for CO2 Electroreduction to C2H6 with High Selectivity under a Wide Potential Window in a Flow Cell

Ce⁴⁺-Doped CuO Mesoporous Nanosheets for CO₂ Electroreduction to C₂H₆ with High Selectivity under a Wide Potential Window in a Flow Cell

Novel Mn–Bi–S hybrid mesoporous nanosheets as an efficient electrocatalyst for nitrogen reduction reaction

A non-precious and efficient catalyst was developed to enhance N2 adsorption by electronic interaction and ideal synergistic effect to improve the NRR activity.

Asymmetric Monolayer Mesoporous Nanosheets of Regularly Arranged Semi-Opened Pores via a Dual-Emulsion-Directed Micelle Assembly.

Constructing asymmetric two-dimensional (2D) mesoporous nanomaterials with new pore structure, tunable monolayer architectures, and especially anisotropic surfaces remains a great challenge in materials science. Here, we report a dual-emulsion directed micelle assembly approach to fabricate a novel type of asymmetric monolayer mesoporous organosilica nanosheet for the first time. In this asymmetric 2D structure, numerous quasi-spherical semiopened mesopores (∼20 nm in diameter, 24 nm in opening size) were regularly arranged on a plane, endowing the porous nanosheets (several micrometers in size) with a typical surface anisotropy on two sides. Meanwhile, lots of triangular intervoids (4.0-5.0 nm in size) can also be found among each three semiopened mesopores, enabling the nanosheet to be interconnected. Vitally, such interconnected, anisotropic porous nanosheets exhibit ultrahigh accessible surface area (∼714 m2 g-1) and good lipophilicity properties owing to the abundant semiopened mesopores. Additionally, besides the nanosheet, the configuration of the asymmetric porous structure can also be transformed into a microcapsule when controlling the emulsification size via a facile ultrasonic treatment. As a demonstration, we show that the asymmetric microcapsule shows a high demulsification efficiency (>98%) and cyclic stability (>6 recycle times). Our protocol opens up a new avenue for developing next-generation asymmetric mesoporous materials for various applications.

Boosted Oxygen Kinetics of Hierarchically Mesoporous Mo2C/C for High-current-density Zn-air Battery.

The high-current-density Zn-air battery shows big prospects in next-generation energy technologies, while sluggish O2 reaction and diffusion kinetics barricade the applications. Herein, the sequential assembly is innovatively demonstrated for hierarchically mesoporous molybdenum carbides/carbon microspheres with a tunable thickness of mesoporous carbon layers (Meso-Mo2C/C-x, where x represents the thickness). The optimum Meso-Mo2C/C-14 composites (≈2µm in diameter) are composed of mesoporous nanosheets (≈38nm in thickness), which possess bilateral mesoporous carbon layers (≈14nm in thickness), inner Mo2C/C layers (≈8nm in thickness) with orthorhombic Mo2C nanoparticles (≈2nm in diameter), a high surface area of ≈426m2g-1, and open mesopores (≈6.9nm in size). Experiments and calculations corroborate the hierarchically mesoporous Mo2C/C can enhance hydrophilicity for supplying sufficient O2, accelerate oxygen reduction kinetics by highly-active Mo2C and N-doped carbon sites, and facilitate O2 diffusion kinetics over hierarchically mesopores. Therefore, Meso-Mo2C/C-14 outputs a high half-wave potential (0.88V vs RHE) with a low Tafel slope (51mVdec-1) for oxygen reduction. More significantly, the Zn-air battery delivers an ultrahigh power density (272mWcm-2), and an unprecedented 100h stability at a high-current-density condition (100mAcm-2), which is one of the best performances.

The effect of thermal shock-based heat-treatment on the cost-effective and low-temperature synthesis of needle-like r-BN

While a variety of techniques have been applied to prepare h-BN powders of different morphology, only a few r-BN synthesis methods are presented. In this study, the h-BN structures have been synthesized through controlled nitridation at temperatures lower than 950 ℃. First, a precursor was prepared at 65 ℃ from boric acid and urea, making huge bubbles of B-N-C and flattened at higher temperatures. However, r-BN hollow needle-shaped structures were formed from these h-BN nanosheets by thermal shock-based heat treatment, where the flattening process stopped and sheets rolled. The as-synthesized samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), simultaneous thermal analysis (STA: thermogravimetric (TGA), and differential thermal analysis (DTA)), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) techniques. The h-BN nanosheets are about 500 nm thick, while needle-type structures are approximately 0.88–17 µm long. The specific surface area of mesoporous nanosheets and needle-like hollow r-BN mesoporous structures is 358 and 75 m2/g, respectively. In this research, h-BN and r-BN are synthesized in sheet-like and needle-like morphologies, respectively.

Boosting electrocatalytic hydrazine oxidation at single-crystalline Ni nanosheets with embedded NiZn

Hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR) plays a crucial role in direct hydrazine fuel cells and holds promise for replacing the kinetics-sluggish oxygen evolution reaction in splitting water. While Ni–Zn alloys exhibit exceptional activity for HzOR, their synthesis under mild conditions remains a challenge. Herein, a Ni–Zn nanosheet catalyst with NiZn inclusion was prepared on Ni foam by controllable chemical etching together with ethylene glycol reduction. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy confirmed the single-crystalline nature and the presence of intermetallic NiZn. The strong interaction between Ni and ZnO, along with defects, facilitated the formation of this intermetallic compound. The Ni–Zn/Ni foam exhibits remarkable catalytic activity (214.3 ​mA ​cm−2 at 0.1 ​V) and durability (87.8 ​% retention after 24 ​h) towards hydrazine electrooxidation, thanks to the combined benefits of intermetallic NiZn, mesoporous nanosheets, microscopic defects, single-crystalline characteristics, and a coherent Ni–NiZn interface. This study provides a new method for designing highly active Ni–Zn electrocatalysts for HzOR.

Recent Advances in Graphene-Based Mesoporous Nanosheets for Supercapacitors

Among typical energy storage devices, supercapacitors play a predominant role in industry and our life owing to their rapid charge/discharge rate, superior lifespan, high power density, low cost, and outstanding safety. However, their low energy density has severely hindered their further development. For active electrode materials, graphene-based mesoporous nanosheets (GMNs) can combine the advantages from graphene and mesoporous materials, which can be applied to significantly enhance the energy density of supercapacitors. Here, we review the recent advances in GMNs for supercapacitors, focusing on in-plane mesoporous graphene and sandwich-like graphene-based heterostructures. Firstly, the synthesis of in-plane mesoporous graphene with ordered and disordered mesopores for supercapacitors is introduced. Secondly, sandwich-like graphene-based heterostructures are classified into mesoporous carbon/graphene, mesoporous heteroatom-doped carbon/graphene, mesoporous conducting polymer/graphene, and mesoporous metal oxide/graphene, and their applications in supercapacitors are discussed in detail. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of GMNs for high-performance supercapacitors are proposed.

Synthesis of Flower-Like Cobalt–Molybdenum Mixed-Oxide Microspheres for Deep Aerobic Oxidative Desulfurization of Fuel

Flower-like cobalt–molybdenum mixed-oxide microspheres (CoMo-FMs) with hierarchical architecture were successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal process and subsequent calcination step. The characterization results show that CoMo-FMs were assembled from ultrathin mesoporous nanosheets with thicknesses of around 4.0 nm, providing the composite with a large pore volume and a massive surface area. The synthesized CoMo-FMs were employed as catalysts for the aerobic oxidative desulfurization (AODS) of fuel, and the reaction results show that the optimal catalyst (CoMo-FM-2) demonstrated an outstanding catalytic performance. Over CoMo-FM-2, various thiophenic sulfides could be effective removed at 80–110 °C under an atmospheric pressure, and a complete conversion of sulfides could be achieved in at least six consecutive cycles without a detectable change in chemical compositions. Further, the catalytic mechanism was explored by conducting systemic radical trapping and transformation experiments, and the excellent catalytic performance for CoMo-FMs should be mainly due to the synergistic effect of Mo and Co elements.

Hierarchical CoNiO2 Microflowers Assembled by Mesoporous Nanosheets as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

In order to alleviate the energy crisis and propel a low-carbon economy, hydrogen (H2) plays an important role as a renewable cleaning resource. To break the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) bottleneck, we need high-efficiency electrocatalysts. Based on the synergistic effect between bimetallic oxides, hierarchical mesoporous CoNiO2 nanosheets can be fabricated. Combining physical representations with electrochemical measurements, the resultant CoNiO2 catalysts present the hierarchical microflowers morphology assembled by mesoporous nanosheets. The ultrathin two-dimensional nanosheets and porous surface characteristics provide the vast channels for electrolyte injection, thus endowing CoNiO2 the outstanding HER performance. The excellent performance with a fewer onset potential of 94 mV, a smaller overpotential at 10 mA cm-2, a lower Tafel slope of 109 mV dec-1 and better stability after 1000 cycles makes CoNiO2 better than that of metallic Co and metallic Ni.

Lamellar-stacked cobalt-based nanopiles integrated with nitrogen/sulfur co-doped graphene as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for ultralong-term zinc-air batteries

Sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics inevitably impede the practical performance of rechargeable zinc–air batteries. Thus, combing the structural designability of transition metal-based electrocatalysts with anionic regulation is highly desired. Herein, mesoporous lamellar-stacked cobalt-based nanopiles with surface-sulfurization modification are elaborately designed and integrated with N/S co-doped graphene to build a robust OER/ORR bifunctional electrocatalyst. The lamellar-stacking mode of mesoporous nanosheets with abundant channels accelerates gas–liquid mass transfer, and partial-sulfurization of cobalt-based matrix surface efficiently improves the intrinsic OER activity. Meanwhile, N/S co-doped graphene further reinforces the ORR active sites while providing a stable conductive skeleton. As expected, this composite electrocatalyst delivers considerable bifunctional activity and stability, with an OER overpotential of 323 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and high durability. When applied in zinc–air batteries, remarkable ultralong-term stability over 4000 cycles and a maximum power density of 150.1 mW cm−2 are achieved. This work provides new insight into structure-composition synergistic design of rapid-kinetics OER/ORR bifunctional electrocatalyst for next-generation metal–air batteries.

Self-template synthesis of CuCo2O4 nanosheet-based nanotube sorbent for efficient Hg0 removal

Adsorption method is an effective way to remove Hg0 from flue gas, and the morphology and active site of sorbents seriously affect the Hg0 removal efficiency. The hierarchical porous nanosheet-based nanotube structure can effectively reduce the mass transfer resistance and provide more active sites. Inspired by this, the organic-inorganic hybrid nanowires of Co-aspartic acid was used as the template, which can hydrolyze in water-alcohol mixed solution and coordinate with Cu2+ based on Kirkendall effect to prepare nanosheet-based nanotube of CuCo2O4 sorbents. By changing the ratio of water to alcohol, the hydrolysis rate of Co-aspartic acid nanowires will be changed resulting in different physicochemical properties for CuCo2O4 sorbents. Characterization results show that when the ratio is 1:2, the sorbent (CuCo2O4-1-2) has the best hierarchical porous nanosheet-based nanotube structure and the best redox properties. CuCo2O4-1-2, which has the widest reaction temperature window, has a high Hg0 removal efficiency of 89 % under a high GHSV of 180 000 h−1 at 250 °C and a good poisoning resistance and stability. The straight nanotube can effectively reduce the gas transfer mass resistance, and the mesoporous nanosheets structure on its surface provide more active sites for the reaction, which improves the ability of CuCo2O4-1-2 sorbent to capture and activate O2. Meanwhile, DFT calculation shows Cu-Co on the surface of CuCo2O4 is the main active site because the bond length of OO can be effectively lengthened when O2 is adsorbed on the Cu-Co site.

Mesoporous Co3O4 nanosheets with exposed Co2+-rich crystal facets for improved toluene detection

Crystal facet engineering strategy is an effective way to regulate the exposed facets, which affect the ability of the surface to adsorb and react with gas molecules, ultimately enhancing the gas-sensing properties. In this work, Co3O4 mesoporous nanosheets with dominant exposed {111} facets (Co3O4-60) or {112} facets (Co3O4-100) were synthesized by simply adjusting the condensation-reflux temperature. The sensing results toward toluene show that Co3O4-60 exhibited superior performance. According to the crystal structure analysis and work function calculations, the (111) facet composed of Co2+ would adsorb more oxygen molecules, which have been proved by experimental characterization, facilitating the sensing efficiency. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that Co3O4-60 possesses a higher Co2+ content and chemisorbed oxygen ratio (52.9%). Furthermore, Co3O4-60 has a high electrical conductivity and a minor apparent activation energy for toluene (38.75 kJ/mol). The gas sensor based on Co3O4-60 exhibited a response of 20.6 for 100 ppm toluene with rapid recovery and a detection limit of 1 ppm. Besides, other properties such as selectivity, repeatability, and humidity resistance were evaluated. This work evidences that crystal facet engineering is a practical approach to improving the gas-sensing properties of pure-phase Co3O4.

Compression-tolerant supercapacitor based on NiCo2O4/Ti3C2Tx MXene/reduced graphene oxide composite aerogel with insights from density functional theory simulations

Compression-tolerant electrodes are critical for developing next-generation wearable energy storage devices. However, most of previous studies on compressible electrodes focus on carbon-based materials, whereas metal-based materials such as spinel metal oxide with faradaic nature have been rarely studied due to their lack of compressibility. Herein, NiCo2O4 (NCO) microtubes assembled by ultrathin and mesoporous nanosheets, are deposited on/into Ti3C2Tx MXene/reduced graphene oxide aerogel (MGA), an intrinsically compressible host template with high conductivity and specific surface areas. The optimized NCO/MGA-300 sample shows a reversible compressive strain of 60% and a superior durability. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the NCO/MGA-300 heterojunction has high electronic conductivity, fast electron transfer ability, and low adsorption energy for OH– ions. As a result, the NCO/MGA-300 electrode exhibits superb electrochemical performance in terms of its high gravimetric capacitance (1633F g−1 at 1 A g−1), rate performance (1492F g−1 at 10 A g−1), and remarkable cycling stability of 86.6% after 10,000 charge-discharging cycles. Moreover, an assembled asymmetric supercapacitor based on compressible NCO/MGA-300 shows stable electrochemical performances under different compressive strains (20%. 40% and 60%), or after 100 compression-release cycles. This research finding demonstrates the possibility of metal-based electrode for wearable devices with high energy storage capability and good compressibility.

Construction of 2D C,N-co-doped ZnO/Co3O4over Ni(OH)2mesoporous ultrathin nanosheets on Ni foam as high-performance electrocatalysts for benzyl-alcohol oxidation and accelerating hydrogen evolution

The synthesis of 2D C,N-co-doped ZnO/Co3O4@Ni(OH)2/NF heterostructure mesoporous nanosheets which show high activity for benzyl alcohol oxidation (a benzoic acid yield of 99%, and a faradaic efficiency over 97%) is reported.

Building rapid water transport channels within thin-film nanocomposite membranes based on 2D mesoporous nanosheets

The fabrication of novel thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes with superior flux, rejection as well as prolonged stability is being requested by membrane industries for saving energy and cost. In this regard, in the present research work we developed novel TFN membranes using amine-rich synthetic talc (NHST) nanosheets within diethylenetriamine (DETA) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) monomers over a polydopamine (PDA) coating layer. Different concentrations (0.2–1 %) of NHST nanosheets are applied for the fabrication of TFN membranes and comparatively examined with a thin-film composite (TFC) membrane. In-situ synthesized NHST nanosheet phases are confirmed by several characterization techniques and results are explored in depth. All prepared membranes are well investigated to confirm the incorporation of NHST by several characterization techniques, like FE-SEM, ATR-FTIR, HR-TEM, XPS, PXRD, TGA, and contact angle. It is found that a small amount of NHST doping in the TFN layer considerably improved the performance in the form of permeability and rejection. The developed TFN membranes showed hydrophilic characteristics as confirmed by the contact angle. Water flux performance of TFN membranes was also observed comparatively higher than TFC membranes. Optimized NHST-PDT-TFN2 membrane with NHST concentration 0.5 % resulted in 98.96, 95.35, 93.83 and 21.66 % rejection for Na2SO4, MgSO4, CuSO4 and NaCl salts, respectively together with permeance up to 24.45, 22.72, 26.45 and 30.75 Lm−2h−1b−1. The present research finding concludes that the incorporation of a little quantity of NHST nanosheets in the TFN layer plays a unique potential role in the enhancement of flux and rejection of targeted mineral salts. Additionally, the NHST-PDT-TFN membranes revealed outstanding antibacterial properties signifying that contact with microorganisms does not affect the performance and sustains the fouling resistance. The antifouling study of the membranes concluded that the addition of nanomaterials has led to enhanced antifouling tendency and low irreversible fouling, improving the longevity of the membranes.