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Preparation of graphene oxide–cellulose acetate nanocomposite membrane for high-flux desalination

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Abstract

Graphene oxide–cellulose acetate (GO–CA) nanocomposite membranes have been successfully prepared via phase inversion method. The GO sheets were firstly well dispersed in formamide, and then the solution was mixed with acetone containing CA so as to confirm the GO sheets well dispersed in the final GO–CA nanocomposite membranes. All the GO–CA nanocomposite membranes are composed of dense skin layer and sponge-like sublayer. With the increase in GO contents (from 0 to 0.01 wt%), the skin layer gradually became thinner and the pore size in the sublayer increased; meanwhile, the contact angle of GO–CA membranes decreased from 70.59° to 53.42° due to better hydrophilicity. All the membranes, except for the nanocomposite membrane containing 0.01 wt% GO, have featured pores at about 0.9 nm. The permeation rate of the membrane containing 0.005 wt% GO was 2.3 times higher than that of the CA membrane (0 wt% GO) with a little decrease (~15%) in salt retention. Compared with CA membrane, the enhanced performance of GO–CA membranes may be attributed to their enhanced structure and hydrophilicity.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by National Key Technology Research and Development Program (No. 2014BAE12B0104), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51425202), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20160093) and the Industrial Support Program of Changzhou (No. CE20160031).

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Author notes

  1. Yexun Shi and Chang Li have contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Material-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210009, People’s Republic of China

    Yexun Shi, Chang Li, Dafang He, Liming Shen & Ningzhong Bao

  2. Jiangnan Graphene Research Institute, Changzhou, Jiangsu, 213149, People’s Republic of China

    Dafang He & Ningzhong Bao

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  1. Yexun Shi
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  2. Chang Li
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  3. Dafang He
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  4. Liming Shen
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  5. Ningzhong Bao
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Correspondence to Liming Shen or Ningzhong Bao.

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Shi, Y., Li, C., He, D. et al. Preparation of graphene oxide–cellulose acetate nanocomposite membrane for high-flux desalination. J Mater Sci 52, 13296–13306 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1403-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1403-0

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