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PVA-integrated graphene oxide-attapulgite composite membrane for efficient removal of heavy metal contaminants

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Abstract

Graphene oxide (GO) is an excellent membrane-forming material with unique two-dimensional transport channels and excellent adsorption properties for heavy metal contaminants. However, swelling under cross-flow conditions and long-term water immersion leads to poor separation performances. To improve the stability of GO membrane materials, we propose a PVA-integrated graphene oxide/attapulgite membrane (GOAP) with a 3D microstructural arrangement of “brick–mortar-brick.” The addition of PVA as mortar reinforces the strength of the structures via induced hydrogen bonding within the 3D water transport network. Furthermore, the Al2O3 ceramic substrate pre-treated with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) provided high mechanical stability to the composite membrane, extending the membrane’s stability beyond a month of immersion without swelling or shedding. The PVA-integrated GO/ATP composite membrane maintained a rejection rate of 99% for Cu2+ solution (100 mg/L) in a 26-h continuous with nearly 100% rejection for various metals ions such as Cu2+, Ni2+, Pb2+, and Cd2+. The membrane exhibited a water flux of 20.7 L·m−2·h−1, which was 15.9-fold high than the pure GO membrane (GOM). The high water flux and heavy metal filtration rate with superior stability proved the practical suitability of the composite film for removing heavy metal ions.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (buctrc201819).

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Author notes

  1. Anwen Chen and Wei Liu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Process and Technology for Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China

    Anwen Chen, Wei Liu, Razium Ali Soomro, Yi Wei, Xun Zhu, Ning Qiao, Yueqi Kang & Bin Xu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China

    Bin Xu

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  1. Anwen Chen
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  2. Wei Liu
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  7. Yueqi Kang
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Contributions

Anwen Chen and Wei Liu: investigation, visualization, and writing—original draft.

Razium Ali Soomro: review and editing.

YiWei: diagram drawing.

Xun Zhu and Yueqi Kang: investigation, data analysis.

Bin Xu and Ning Qiao: funding acquisition, methodology, supervision, validation.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bin Xu.

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Chen, A., Liu, W., Soomro, R.A. et al. PVA-integrated graphene oxide-attapulgite composite membrane for efficient removal of heavy metal contaminants. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 84410–84420 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20810-0

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