Thin Film Nanocomposite Forward Osmosis Research Articles

Synergistic impacts of Cu2+ on simultaneous removal of tetracycline and tetracycline resistance genes by PSF/TPU/UiO forward osmosis membrane

Cu2+, tetracycline (TC), and corresponding tetracycline resistance genes (TRGs) are common micropollutants in aquaculture wastewater, which have great impact on environment and human health. In this study, we developed a thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) forward osmosis (FO) membrane with an electrospinning thermoplastic polyurethane/polysulfone (PSF/TPU) substrate and a UiO-66-NH2 particle interlayer modified active layer. The effects of Cu2+ concentration on the synergetic removal of TC and TRGs (e.g., tetA/M/X/O/C, int1, and 16 S rRNA gene) were analyzed to determine the role of Cu2+ in FO process. The rejection mechanism was also analyzed in depth. Results demonstrated that the rejection of TC and Cu2+ was 99.53% and 97.99%. The rejection of TRGs exceeded 90% (specifically, over 99% for tetC) at a Cu2+ concentration of 500 μg/L when 0.5 M (NH4)2HPO4 was used as draw solution. Complexation reaction between Cu2+ and TC, electrostatic interaction, and the adsorption of Cu2+ on membrane surface were the main contributing factors for the high rejection efficiencies. Altogether, the as-prepared FO membrane holds great potential for simultaneously removing heavy metals, antibiotics, and resistance genes in real wastewater.

High Flux and Antifouling Thin-Film Nanocomposite Forward Osmosis Membrane with Ingrained Silica Nanoparticles

A novel high flux and antifouling thin-film nanocomposite (TFnC) forward osmosis (FO) membrane containing silica (SiO2) nanoparticles was fabricated using a facile electrospinning technique followed by interfacial polymerization on the surface of an electrospun nanofiber mat. Both the electrospun nylon-6 (N6) substrate and the polyamide (PA) active layer contained superhydrophilic SiO2 nanoparticles enhancing the hydrophilicity of the fabricated FO membrane. The electrospun N6/SiO2-supported TFnC FO membrane with a PA/SiO2 composite active layer was robust (tensile strength of 24.1 MPa) with a water contact angle of 14°. The membrane exhibited a high water flux (27.1 LMH) with a low specific reverse salt flux (5.9 × 10–3 mol L–1) at draw solution concentration of 1 M NaCl at 24 °C. The fabricated membrane also showed antifouling propensities for model foulants of sodium alginate and calcium sulfate. After fouling and cleaning operations, the flux recoveries were 98% and 94% (of the initial water flux) for the membranes fouled with sodium alginate and calcium sulfate, respectively. Moreover, a strong interaction between the active layer and the substrate highlighted the structural stability of the fabricated TFnC membrane.

Novel thin film nanocomposite forward osmosis membrane embedded with amine functionalized UiO-66 metal organic frameworks as an effective way to remove heavy metal Cr3+ ions

Novel thin film nanocomposite forward osmosis membrane embedded with amine functionalized UiO-66 metal organic frameworks as an effective way to remove heavy metal Cr3+ ions

Sewage concentration via a graphene oxide modified thin-film nanocomposite forward osmosis membrane: Enhanced performance and mitigated fouling

• The GO modified TFN-FO membrane shows improved filtration performance. • The GO modified TFN-FO membrane shows an enhanced antifouling property. • The GO modified FO membrane has high and stable sewage concentration performance. • High water flux recovery rates can be achieved by simple membrane cleaning. Upstream intensification of wastewater pre-treatment could improve the efficiency of the biological wastewater treatment process by separating and concentrating the organic matter. Forward osmosis (FO) technology is a potential upstream intensification strategy for sewage concentration. Herein, a high-performance graphene oxide (GO) modified TFN-FO membrane was fabricated and evaluated. The GO modified TFN-FO membrane showed 41% enhancement in water flux without weakening the selectivity property, due to the improved membrane hydrophilicity, thinner polyamide layer and facilitated water transportation by GO. The enhanced filtration performance and antifouling property of the TFN-FO membrane were confirmed by using simulative foulant solution and raw sewage as feed solutions. Moreover, a 41 h semi-continuous filtration experiment was conducted for sewage concentration using real raw sewage as the feed solution. Results indicated that the TFN-FO membrane achieved 4.6 times sewage concentration with high rejection of ammonia, nitrogen and organics. In addition, with a simple in-line water cleaning-in-place (CIP) process, most of the pollutants could be washed off from the surface of the TFN-FO membrane in 15 min and ~ 90% water flux could be recovered after each cleaning cycle. This work demonstrates the potential application of TFN-FO membranes for sewage wastewater concentration.

Triple-layered thin film nanocomposite membrane toward enhanced forward osmosis performance

Forward osmosis (FO) has attracted enormous research interests as a prospective low-energy membrane-separation technology in many potential applications such as desalination, wastewater treatment and agricultural irrigation. The novel thin film nanocomposite (TFN) FO membranes have demonstrated great improvement in separation performance and antifouling capacities. As an intermediate layer, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) could control the interfacial polymerization (IP) process to obtain an ultrathin and dense polyamide (PA) selective layer. Silver phosphate loaded acidified graphitic carbon nitride (aCN/AP) exhibited excellent nanofiller properties, including excellent aqueous dispersity, confined mass transfer, and outstanding bacteriostasis. In view of this, we fabricated TFN FO membranes with CNT as interlayer and aCN/AP as nanofillers into PA layer. Improved hydrophilic and enhanced negatively surface charges were obtained with the incorporation of aCN/AP. The optimal TFN-aCN/AP membrane possessed a higher water flux of 67.0 L m−2 h−1 accompanied with a reverse salt flux lower than 3.0 g m−2 h−1 by using 1 M NaCl as draw solution. Besides, the TFN-aCN/AP membrane showed excellent antibacterial property against both gram-negative E.coli and gram-positive S.aureus with a sterilization rate of 99.0% and 92.0%, respectively. This work provides a new strategy to fabricate novel TFN FO membranes with high permselectivity and excellent antibacterial capacities.

Employing the synergistic effect between aquaporin nanostructures and graphene oxide for enhanced separation performance of thin-film nanocomposite forward osmosis membranes

In this study, novel thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes were developed by incorporating graphene oxide (GO) and Aquaporin Z (AqpZ) reconstituting nanostructure (AQN) into the polyamide (PA) active layer to improve the forward osmosis (FO) performances of the PA TFN membranes. First, the AQN loading in the PA layer was optimized, followed by the GO addition in PA layer at various loadings until the optimal FO process performance was attained. Experimental results showed that GO flakes increased membrane water flux but decreased selectivity by creating non-selective voids in PA layer. Whereas, AQN increased membrane selectivity by healing the non-selective PA defects created by the GO flakes. The synergistic effect of GO-AQN improved the water flux without deteriorating the selectivity of the membrane. The TFN membrane with 0.2 wt% AQN and 0.005 wt% GO loading (TFN50) showed almost 3 folds increase in water flux (24.1 L·m−2·h−1) in comparison to the TFC membrane (8.2 L·m−2·h−1), while retaining the membrane selectivity (0.37 g.L−1). Interestingly, the TFN50 membrane demonstrated a 27% lower specific reverse salt flux (SRSF) and a marginal increase in water flux than the TFN membrane embedded with 0.005 wt% GO and no AQN (TFNGO50). The overall experimental results confirmed that the addition of AQN into GO-based PA TFN membranes could improve the membrane selectivity by reducing the non-selective PA defects created by GO flakes. The results of this study could provide strategies to further enhance the selectivity of GO-based TFN membranes by preventing the formation of defective PA layer.

A novel cockscomb-like substrate-supported TFN-FO membrane with a dispersed bovine serum albumin (BSA)/gold nanoparticles (GNPs) interface layer exhibiting high performance

A novel thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) forward osmosis (FO) membrane was fabricated by loading bovine serum albumin (BSA)/gold nanoparticles (GNPs) on the surface of a cockscomb-like nylon supporting membrane. The influence of the embedded BSA/GNPs on surface morphology, surface roughness, surface charge, separation, and FO performance of the TFN-FO membrane was investigated. The water flux of the BSA/GNPs-modified FO membrane could be increased to 55.2 ± 5.4 LMH, and the Js/Jw value was substantially decreased to 0.034 g/L, indicating a high selectivity of the modified membrane. BSA/GNPs located between the top of the nylon supporting membrane and the bottom of the polyamide (PA) skin layer provided passage for water transport and increased the roughness of the PA layer, thus enhancing the effective area on which the osmotic pressure could act. In addition, BSA/GNPs located at the bottom surface of the nylon supporting membrane provided a nearly electroneutral surface in the solution and alleviated dilutive concentration polarization. In summary, choosing a nylon membrane with a special cockscomb-like surface structure as the supporting layer to load BSA/GNPs nanoparticles proved to be a creative and effective nano-modification method for fabricating high-performance TFN-FO membranes.

Efficient heavy metal removal by thin film nanocomposite forward osmosis membrane modified with geometrically different bimetallic oxide

A novel thin film nanocomposite (TFN) forward osmosis (FO) membrane with a positively charged and nanofunctional substrate layer has been developed for effective heavy metal ions removal. The substrate layer is constructed by adding titania nanotubes and magnetite oxide hybrid nanoparticles (TNT–Fe3O4) in the polysulfone (PSf) matrix. The introduction of nanoparticles endowed the substrate layer with improved hydrophilicity and loose structure. The modified substrate layer also improved the affinity between the nanofillers and polymer matrix, hence maintaining the selectivity of membrane. Compared to pristine thin film composite (TFC) membrane, the TFN with 0.5 wt.% nanofillers loading showed enhanced water flux from 1.63 to 2.82 L m−2 h−1 without losing its selectivity in terms of Js/Jv ratio when operated in FO mode. The enhancement was mainly attributed to the improved substrate hydrophilicity which has effectively reduced the internal polarization concentration (ICP). The best performing TFN-0.5 membrane increased the water flux with 73% compared to TFC and exhibited a high Cd2+ and Pb2+ heavy metal ion rejection of >98%. By designing the substrate layer, this study demonstrated the feasibility of enhancing the performance of FO membrane for treating heavy metal wastewater through a simple and efficient method.

Simultaneous robust removal of tetracycline and tetracycline resistance genes by a novel UiO/TPU/PSF forward osmosis membrane

The accumulation of antibiotics in the environment fosters the evolution of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) that cause adverse an ecological impact. In this study, we fabricated a thermoplastic polyurethane/polysulfone (TPU/PSF) composite membrane with a low structural parameter and high mechanical strength using electrospinning. UiO-66-NH2 particles and particles interfacial polymerization thin-film nanocomposite forward osmosis (UTFN) membrane were then prepared and characterized with the best-performing substrate layer of the TPU/PSF (20/80) membrane. Furthermore, the co-rejection and mechanism of tetracycline (TC) and tetracycline resistance genes (TRGs) (commonly including tetA, tetC, tetM, tetO, and tetX, as well as int1 and 16S rRNA gene) were revealed. Results demonstrated that the as-prepared UTFN membrane with 0.075 wt% particle(UTFN-0.075) achieved the highest water flux (64 L m−2 h−1) and the rejection of TC was above 99.64% using 0.5 mol (NH4)2HPO4 as the draw solution. Meanwhile, the permeability of the TRGs was lower than 10% (particularly, less than 1.4% for tetC). The rejection of electrically neutral TC was likely affected by steric hindrance, whereas the TRGs rejection mechanism could be attributed to electrostatic repulsion and pore sieving effect. As for permeability, differences in various TRGs were mainly attributed to their distribution. Therefore, the simultaneous removal of TC and TRGs by the UTFN membrane has significant application prospects for wastewater treatment.

Covalent organic framework incorporated outer-selective hollow fiber thin-film nanocomposite membranes for osmotically driven desalination

In this study, new outer-selective hollow fiber (OSHF) thin film nanocomposite (TFN) forward osmosis (FO) membranes incorporated with amine-rich Schiff-based network (SNW-1) nanoparticles (NPs), a type of covalent organic frameworks (COFs), were developed by vacuum-assisted interfacial polymerization (VAIP). The SNW-1 NPs possess hydrophilic nature and porous internal structures, which are desirable for producing highly permeable and efficient FO membranes. SNW-1 NPs were conformally packed across the outer surface of the HF substrate by vacuum pressure applied during the VAIP process leading to defect-free coatings. Furthermore, covalent bonding between secondary amine (NH2−) groups across the SNW-1 network and remanent carboxylic groups present from the monomer used for the interfacial polymerization step supported the adhesion of SNW-1 NPs to the native poly(amide) layer present across the TFN membrane surface. As a result, SNW-1 loading at 0.001 wt% exhibited the best FO performance with enhanced water flux more than 23% of the pristine one (31.5 L m−2 h−1) and relatively low specific reverse solute flux (SRSF, Js/Jw) at 0.18 g L−1 using 1 M NaCl and DI water in series of TFN composite membranes. The optimum loading at 0.001 wt% was much lower than those in other home-made TFN membranes (normally above 0.05 wt%) due to the minimum loss of SNW-1 in the VAIP. Also, the TFN membrane offered excellent FO operation stability tested for 72 h. Such novel approach is promising to optimize FO processes for desalination and water treatment in the future.

High performance thin-film nanocomposite forward osmosis membrane based on PVDF/bentonite nanofiber support

In this study, PVDF electrospun nanofibers impregnated with bentonite nanoclay based highly hydrophilic thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes were synthesized by interfacial polymerization of a polyamide selective layer for forward osmosis (FO) applications. It was revealed that the bentonite nanoclay can tune the properties of the PVDF nanofiber supported TFN membranes, including the key parameters, such as hydrophilicity, the β-phase fraction (polar phase), and its mechanical properties. The PVDF/bentonite nanoclay mixture resulted in a significant improvement in FO performance. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis confirmed the successful integration of bentonite nanoclay into the electrospun nanofiber. The prepared TFN membranes showed higher hydrophilicity, mechanical strength and water permeability compared to the pristine PVDF electrospun nanofiber TFN membrane due to an increase in the β-phase fraction (hydrophilicity) by the synergetic effect of electrospinning and addition of bentonite nanoclay. A TFN membrane with the highest nanoclay content (2.0wt%) showed an exceptionally high FO water flux of 40.64L/m2 h at 1M NaCl draw solution, without a considerable increase in reverse solute flux (RSF).

Preparation of a thin-film nanocomposite forward osmosis membrane for the removal of organic micro-pollutants from aqueous solutions

ABSTRACT In this study, a thin-film nanocomposite forward osmosis (TFN FO) membrane was synthesized. The properties and structures of membranes were evaluated for the removal of three organic micro-pollutants from synthetic and real industrial wastewater samples. Laboratory scale fabrication thin-film nanocomposite forward osmosis (FO) membranes composed of a support layer and an active layer. The former was constructed by adding different weight ratios of polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG-400) (0–8 wt.%), polysulfone (PSf), and 1-methyl, 2-pyrrolidone via the phase inversion process, while the latter was synthesized by the incorporation of different weight ratios of graphene oxide (GO) (0–0.012 wt.%), M-phenylenediamine, and 1, 3, 5-benzene trichloride into polyamide layer through the interfacial polymerization reaction. In comparison with thin-film composite (TFC) membranes, the TFN membranes revealed higher hydrophilicity, porosity, water permeability, water flux and salt rejection and lower internal concentration polarization (ICP), reverse salt flux and specific reverse salt flux. The TFN membrane containing 0.008% GO in the active layer and 4% PEG 400 in the support layer exhibited maximum water flux (34.3 LMH) and rejection rate of benzene, phenol and toluene (97%, 84%, and 91%, respectively). The results revealed that the TFN-FO membranes possess a promising potential to improve the water flux and wastewater treatment.

Novel polydopamine/metal organic framework thin film nanocomposite forward osmosis membrane for salt rejection and heavy metal removal

A novel polydopamine/metal organic framework thin film nanocomposite (PDA/MOF-TFN) forward osmosis (FO) membrane was developed for salt rejection and heavy metal ion removal. The polyamide layer of the PDA/MOF-TFN membrane was formed by the interfacial polymerization of an MPD/PDA aqueous phase and a TMC/MOF organic phase. MOF-801 strongly adhered to preferentially deposited PDA, which caused an increased amount of MOF-801 to be uniformly distributed in the polyamide layer without agglomeration. Studies have shown that MOF nanocrystals in the polyamide layer introduce additional water channels, which significantly improves the water permeability of the membrane. At the same time, MOF nanocrystals, having a frame structure, increased the pore tortuosity of the polyamide layer, thereby improving the salt rejection performance of the membrane. Compared to conventional thin film composite (TFC) membranes, the PDA/MOF-TFN membrane showed a water flux (Jv) increase of 30%, a reverse salt flux decrease of 44% and a specific salt flux (Js/JV) increase of 56%. Due to its size exclusion and adsorption properties, the PDA/MOF-TFN membrane showed high heavy metal ion (2000 ppm of Cd2+, Ni2+ and Pb2+) rejection (>94%). These results indicate the potential of PDA/MOF-TFN membranes for salt rejection and heavy metal wastewater treatment.

Modification strategy of thin film nanocomposite (TFN) forward osmosis membrane by introducing CNTs-ODA

Modification strategy of thin film nanocomposite (TFN) forward osmosis membrane by introducing CNTs-ODA

Development of high water permeability and chemically stable thin film nanocomposite (TFN) forward osmosis (FO) membrane with poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS)-coated zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) for produced water treatment

The generation of large volume of produced water necessitates a chemically stable membrane with high water permeability for the removal of oil emulsion. In this work, a zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) based thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane with improved pure water permeability and chemical stability was developed. It was found that poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) coating could stabilize the ZIF-8 particles against dissolution in water. This subsequently allowed the proper formation of TFN membrane with comparable separation properties as the thin film composite (TFC) membrane. With the further use of triethylamine (TEA) as an acid acceptor in interfacial polymerization, the pure water permeability of TFN membrane improved significantly over both TFC and TFN membranes synthesized without TEA with minimal loss in NaCl rejection. The enhanced water transport of TFN membrane was further manifested by the higher flux of TFN membrane compared to TFC membrane in forward osmosis (FO) filtration of both synthetic high salinity oil emulsion and real produced water. In addition, due to the chemically stable ZIF-8 particles, the TFN membrane was demonstrated to have a better swelling resistance against produced water than the TFC membrane.

A novel synthetic thin-film nanocomposite forward osmosis membrane modified by graphene oxide and polyethylene glycol for heavy metals removal from aqueous solutions

This study presents the synthesis of a novel thin-film nanocomposite forward osmosis (TFN-FO) membrane and its structural properties and performance; heavy metals removal behavior was further assessed in synthetic and industrial wastewater samples. The novel lab-fabricated TFN-FO membranes included a support layer (SL) constructed by the incorporation of different concentrations (0–8 wt%) of polyethylene glycol 400, polysulfone, and 1-methyl, 2-pyrrolidone via the phase inversion process and an active layer (AL) formed through incorporating different weight ratios (0–0.012 wt%) of graphene oxide (GO), 1, 3-Phenylenediamine and 1, 3, 5-benzene trichloride into the polyamide layer via the interfacial polymerization reaction. Compared with traditional TFC membranes, the TFN-FO membranes exhibited higher hydrophilicity, porosity, water permeability, water flux and salt rejection and lower reverse salt flux, specific reverse salt flux and internal concentration polarization (ICP). The water flux in the TFN membrane (34.3 LMH) increased by 174% and 129%, compared to the TFC membrane (12.5 LMH) and commercial FO membrane (15 LMH), respectively. The rejection rates of TFN FO membranes regarding Pb, Cd, and Cr were 99.9, 99.7 and 98.3%, respectively. The breakthrough time of heavy metals exceeded 14.5 h and 96% concerning flux recovery ratio. The modified FO membranes revealed excellent improvement in membrane structure, FO performances and separation properties.

Conductive thin film nanocomposite forward osmosis membrane (TFN-FO) blended with carbon nanoparticles for membrane fouling control

Membrane fouling in forward osmosis (FO) significantly affects water flux and membrane life, which restricts the further development of FO. In this work, carbon nanoparticles were blended in polyethersulfone (PES) to prepare a conductive thin film nanocomposite (TFN) FO membrane to control the membrane fouling in FO processes. The membrane containing 4 wt% carbon exhibited an optimum performance with water flux of 14.0 and 17.2 LMH for FO (active layer for FS) and PRO (active layer for DS) modes, respectively, using DI water as feed solution and 1 M NaCl as draw solution and electrical conductivity of 170.1 mS/m. Dynamic antifouling experiments showed that, compared with no voltage applied, the water flux decline of surface charged TFN-FO membrane was significantly retarded. For CaSO4, BSA and LYS as model contaminants, the water fluxes were improved by 31%, 13% and 7% under the voltages of +1.7 V, −1.7 V and +1.7 V, respectively. Moreover, the charged membrane is more effective in relieving the initial membrane fouling, and contaminant-contaminant interactions mechanism dominates the formation of further membrane fouling processes. Therefore, for contaminants with different charge conditions, customizing membrane surface charges is a feasible and promising approach for controlling membrane fouling in situ method.

Blue lemon@quaternary graphene oxide open frameworks: As a novel nanostructure for performance enhancement of thin film nanocomposite forward osmosis membrane

This study investigates the preparation of thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes by incorporating polyoxometalate based open frameworks (POM-OFs) within polyamide active layer. The POM-OFs was synthesized using quaternary graphene oxide (QGO) as an organic cationic linker and blue lemon polyoxometalate as POM unite that termed as LGO-OFs. Thin-film composite (TFC) forward osmosis (FO) membrane was prepared by interfacial polymerization procedure using m-phenylenediamine (MPD) dispersion in water and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) dispersion in an organic solvent as two immiscible monomers solution. To fabricate TFN membranes, LGO-OFs were dispersed in the organic solution of TMC monomer. SEM images proved the alteration of polyamide morphology by LGO-OFs loading and the water contact angle measurement approved enhancing the surface hydrophilicity by increasing the LGO-OFs loading. The results of the FO tests exhibited that the water flux for 1000ppm of LGO-OFs embedded TFN membrane was 34.7 LMH, representing 188% improvement compared to the TFC membrane, although the reverse salt flux negligible was increased. These results could be ascribed to the influence of LGO-OFs incorporation on the hydrophilicity and surface morphology of polyamide active layer.

Aluminosilicate Nanotubes Embedded Polyamide Thin Film Nanocomposite Forward Osmosis Membranes with Simultaneous Enhancement of Water Permeability and Selectivity.

Nanocomposite membranes are strongly desired to break a trade-off between permeability and selectivity. This work reports new thin film nanocomposite (TFN) forward osmosis (FO) membranes by embedding aluminosilicate nanotubes (ANTs) into a polyamide (PA) rejection layer. The surface morphology and structure of the TFN FO membranes were carefully characterized by FTIR, XPS, FESEM and AFM. The ANTs incorporated PA rejection layers exhibited many open and broad “leaf-like” folds with “ridge-and-valley” structures, high surface roughness and relatively low cross-linking degree. Compared with thin film composite (TFC) membrane without ANTs, the TFN membrane with only 0.2 w/v% ANTs loading presented significantly improved FO water permeability, selectivity and reduced structural parameters. This promising performance can be mainly contributed to the special ANTs embedded PA rejection layer, where water molecules preferentially transport through the nanochannels of ANTs. Molecular dynamic simulation further proved that water molecules have much larger flux through the nanotubes of ANTs than sodium and chloride ions, which are attributed to the intrinsic hydrophilicity of ANTs and low external force for water transport. This work shows that these TFN FO membranes with ANTs decorated PA layer are promising in desalination applications due to their simultaneously enhanced permeability and selectivity.

Thin film nanocomposite forward osmosis membrane embedded with amine-functionalized ordered mesoporous silica

One of the biggest challenges for the preparation of a thin film nanocomposite forward osmosis (TFN-FO) membrane is the lack of adhesion and compatibility between the nanofiller and polyamide matrix. In this study, a novel TFN-FO membrane with high permeability and selectivity was fabricated by interfacial polymerization (IP). Herein, the ordered mesoporous silica (SBA-15) was selected as nanofiller owing to its hydrophilicity and porosity. To improve the compatibility and adhesion between the nanofiller and the polymer matrix, SBA-15 was functionalized with (3‑aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) to introduce active amine groups onto the surface of the nanofiller (SBA-15-NH2), participating in the IP reaction. The effect of the nanofiller on the membrane surface morphology, hydrophilicity, chemical composition, and roughness of the fabricated TFN-FO membranes was systematically investigated using various characterization methods. It was found that the incorporation of SBA-15-NH2 not only improved the surface hydrophilicity but also provided ultrafast nanochannels for water transport. As a result, the novel TFN-FO membrane presented a higher water flux and selectivity compared with the virgin thin film composite (TFC) membrane.