• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.35-51
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• 2021

Advancements in thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane technology for nanofiltration is crucial for removing pollutants from natural resources. In recent years, various metal-organic framework (MOF) modifications have been tested to overcome the drawbacks that are inevitable with conventional thin-film composite (TFC) and TFN membranes. In general, MIL-101(Cr), UiO-66, ZIF-8, and HKUST-1 [Cu3(BCT2)] are MOFs that were proven to exhibit excellent membrane performance in terms of solvent permeability and solute rejection; their respective studies are reviewed in this article. Other novelties, such as the simultaneous use of different MOFs and unique MOF layering techniques (e.g., dip-coating, spray pre-disposition, Langmuir-Schaefer film, etc.) are also discussed as they present alternate solutions for membrane enhancement and/or preparation convenience. Not only are these MOF-modified TFN membranes frequently shown to improve separation performance from their respective TFC and TFN membranes, but many reports also explain their potential for a cost-effective and environmentally friendly process. In this review the thin film nanocomposite nanofiltration membrane is discussed.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.225-244
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• 2017

A novel thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) reverse osmosis (RO)/non-woven fabric (NWF) membrane was prepared by adding zinc oxide (ZnO) nanospheres ($30{\pm}10nm$) during the interfacial polymerization process of m-phenylenediamine (MPD) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on self-made polysulfone (PSF) membrane/polyester (PET) non-woven fabric support. The improved performance of TFN RO membrane was verified in terms of water contact angle (WCA), water flux, salt rejection, antifouling properties and chlorine resistance. The results showed that the WCA value of TFN RO surface had a continuous decrease with the increasing of ZnO content in MPD aqueous solution. The water flux of composite TFN RO membranes acquired a remarkable increase with a stable high solute rejection (94.5 %) in $1g{\cdot}L^{-1}$ NaCl aqueous solution under the optimized addition amount of ZnO (1 wt%). The continuous testing of membrane separation performance after the immersion in sodium hypochlorite solution indicated that the introduction of ZnO nanospheres also dramatically enhanced the antifouling properties and the chlorine resistance of composite RO membranes.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.75-82
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• 2018

Forward osmosis (FO) desalination system has been highlighted to improve the energy efficiency and drive down the carbon footprint of current reverse osmosis (RO) desalination technology. To improve the trade-off between water flux and salt rejection of thin film composite (TFC) desalination membrane, thin film nanocomposite membranes (TFN), in which nanomaterials as a filler are embeded within a polymeric matrix, are being explored to tailor the separation performance and add new functionality to membranes for water purification applications. The objective of this article is to develop a graphene nanocomposite membrane with high performance of water selective permeability (high water flux, high salt rejection, and low reverse solute diffusion) as a next-generation FO desalination membrane. For advances in fabrication of graphene oxide (GO) membranes, layer-by-layer (LBL) technique was used to control the desirable structure, alignment, and chemical functionality that can lead to ultrahigh-permeability membranes due to highly selective transport of water molecules. In this study, the GO nanocomposite membrane fabricated by LBL dip coating method showed high water flux ($J_w/{\Delta}{\pi}=2.51LMH/bar$), water selectivity ($J_w/J_s=8.3L/g$), and salt rejection (99.5%) as well as high stability in aqueous solution and under FO operation condition.