Novel MXene-Modified Polyphenyl Sulfone Membranes for Functional Nanofiltration of Heavy Metals-Containing Wastewater

Mohammed Azeez Naji; Hamed Salimi-Kenari; Qusay F Alsalhy; Raed A Al-Juboori; Ngoc Huynh; Khalid T Rashid; Issam K Salih

doi:10.3390/membranes13030357

Novel MXene-Modified Polyphenyl Sulfone Membranes for Functional Nanofiltration of Heavy Metals-Containing Wastewater

Membranes (Basel). 2023 Mar 20;13(3):357. doi: 10.3390/membranes13030357.

Authors

Mohammed Azeez Naji¹, Hamed Salimi-Kenari¹, Qusay F Alsalhy², Raed A Al-Juboori³, Ngoc Huynh⁴, Khalid T Rashid², Issam K Salih⁵

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Engineering and Technology, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar 4741613534, Iran.
² Membrane Technology Research Unit, Chemical Engineering Department, University of Technology-Iraq, Alsinaa Street 52, Baghdad 10066, Iraq.
³ NYUAD Water Research Centre, New York University Abu Dhabi Campus, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 129188, United Arab Emirates.
⁴ Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 11000, Aalto, FI-00076 Espoo, Finland.
⁵ Department of Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Industries, AlMustaqbal University College, Babylon 51001, Iraq.

Abstract

In this work, MXene as a hydrophilic 2D nanosheet has been suggested to tailor the polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) flat sheet membrane characteristics via bulk modification. The amount of MXene varied in the PPSU casting solution from 0-1.5 wt.%, while a series of characterization tools have been employed to detect the surface characteristics changes. This included atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle, pore size and porosity, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Results disclosed that the MXene content could significantly influence some of the membranes' surface characteristics while no effect was seen on others. The optimal MXene content was found to be 0.6 wt.%, as revealed by the experimental work. The roughness parameters of the 0.6 wt.% nanocomposite membrane were notably enhanced, while greater hydrophilicity has been imparted compared to the nascent PPSU membrane. This witnessed enhancement in the surface characteristics of the nanocomposite was indeed reflected in their performance. A triple enhancement in the pure water flux was witnessed without compromising the retention of the membranes against the Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺ and Pd²⁺ feed. In parallel, high, and comparable separation rates (>92%) were achieved by all membranes regardless of the MXene content. In addition, promising antifouling features were observed with the nanocomposite membranes, disclosing that these nanocomposite membranes could offer a promising potential to treat heavy metals-containing wastewater for various applications.

Keywords: MXene; heavy metals; nanocomposite membrane; nanofiltration; wastewater.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia under the HICoE with the grant number R.J090301.7851.4J433 and by the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia under Hi-Tech(F4) Research Grant with the grant number Q.J130000.4609.00Q14.