Preparation and characterization of novel polysulphone hybrid ultrafiltration membranes blended with N-doped GO/TiO2 nanocomposites

Abstract N-doped graphene oxide (NRG), one of the graphene oxide derivatives, has been widely incorporated with TiO2 nanoparticles because they increase interfacial contact between graphene and TiO2 nanoparticles. However, introduction of NRG/TiO2 (NRGT) nanocomposites into the membrane matrix to improve the hydrophilicity, permeability, and antifouling properties of ultrafiltration membranes has not been studied. In this work, NRGT nanocomposite was synthesized by sol–gel reaction using NRG nanosheet suspension and tetrabutyl titanate. The synthesized NRGT nanocomposites were used as fillers at different ratios to fabricate novel hybrid ultrafiltration membranes through non-solvent-induced phase-separation method. SEM, FTIR, AFM, TGA, contact-angle experiments, and filtration experiments using water and BSA were performed to characterize the surface morphology, thermal stability, hydrophilicity, structure, pore size distribution, water permeability, and antifouling performance of the membranes. The membranes were found to have an asymmetric structure with high dispersibility of NRGT nanocomposites. They showed high hydrophilicity, permeability, and resistance to fouling with BSA solution, depending on the amount of NRGT nanocomposites blended.

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