Influence of copper oxide nanomaterials in a poly(ether sulfone) membrane for improved humic acid and oil-water separation

• Main Authors: Krishnamurthy, P. H., Yogarathinam, L. T., Gangasalam, A., Ismail, A. F.
• Format: Article
• Published: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2016
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/72076/; https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84973167233&doi=10.1002%2fapp.43873&partnerID=40&md5=767a1d6968ea9cfadfa8eb7c8f74f16d

In this study, self-synthesized copper(I) oxide (Cu2O) nanoparticles were incorporated in poly(ether sulfone) (PES) mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) through the phase-inversion method. A cubic arrangement and crystallite size of 28 nm was identified by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for the as-synthesized Cu2O particles. The pristine PES membrane had a higher contact angle value of 88.50°, which was significantly reduced up to 50.10° for 1.5 wt % PES/Cu2O MMMs. Moreover, XRD analysis of the Cu2O-incorporated PES membrane exhibited a new diffraction pattern at 36.46°. This ensured that the Cu2O nanoparticles were distributed well in the PES matrix. Interestingly, the water permeability progressively improved up to 66.72 × 10−9m s−1kPa−1for 1.5 wt % PES/Cu2O MMMs. Furthermore, the membrane performances were also evaluated with different feed solutions: (1) bovine serum albumin, (2) humic acid, and (3) oil–water. The enhanced rejection and lower flux reduction percentage were observed for hybrid membranes.