Abstract
Membrane separation technology has become one of the most frequently used techniques to secure adequate water resources for human consumption and other domestic and industrial utilization. Thin film nanocomposite membranes are widely used in desalination, but have low photo-sensitisation efficiency because of the entrapment of nanoparticles in the polyamide layer of the membrane, which in turn reduces their exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. To overcome this issue, we adapted polyamide thickness to be equal or less than nanoparticles size, so that the light could reach the nanoparticles. This was achieved by controlling the interfacial polymerization reaction time. ZnO nanoparticles, of 100 nm, were used as a photocatalyst to enhance properties of the thin film nanocomposite membrane. Results showed that the nanoparticles were strongly linked to membrane surface and they can be easily activated by UV light. We found that short time UV irradiation of the ZnO-thin film nanocomposite membrane resulted in superior water flux, of 120 L m−2 h−1, and excellent fouling resistance, without jeopardizing NaCl salt rejection, at 98%. Moreover, the pre-fouled ZnO-thin film nanocomposite membrane showed excellent self-cleaning ability after 30 s of UV treatment. Overall, this study presents an easy method to fabricate high photo-sensitisation and efficient polyamide thin film nanocomposite membrane.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bano S, Mahmood A, Kim S, Lee K (2015) Graphene oxide modified polyamide nanofiltration membrane with improved flux and antifouling properties. J Mater Chem 3:2065–2071. https://doi.org/10.1039/C4TA03607G
Baruah S, Pal SK, Dutta J (2012) Nanostructured zinc oxide for water treatment. Nanosci Nanotechnol 2:90–102. https://doi.org/10.2174/2210681211202020090
Baruah S, Najam Khan M, Dutta J (2016) Perspectives and applications of nanotechnology in water treatment. Environ Chem Lett 14:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-015-0542-2
Deng B, Yin J (2017) Nanocomposite membranes with advanced antifouling properties under visible light irradiation. US Patent No. 9,486,747-B2. www.freepatentsonline.com/y2016/0045874.html
Díez-Pascual AM, Díez-Vicente AL (2014) Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/ZnO bionanocomposites with improved mechanical, barrier and antibacterial properties. Int J Mol Sci 15:10950–10973. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms150610950
Fathizadeh M, Aroujalian A, Raisi A (2011) Effect of added NaX nano-zeolite into polyamide as a top thin layer of membrane on water flux and salt rejection in a reverse osmosis process. J Membr Sci 375:88–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2011.03.017
Gaya UI, Abdullah AH (2008) Heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants over titanium dioxide: a review of fundamentals, progress and problems. J Photochem Photobiol C 9:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2007.12.003
Gouvêa CA, Wypych F, Moraes SG, Durán N, Nagata N, Peralta-Zamora P (2000) Semiconductor-assisted photocatalytic degradation of reactive dyes in aqueous solution. Chemosphere 40:433–440. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-6535(99)00313-6
Habibi MA, Hassanzadeh A, Mahdavi S (2005) The effect of operational parameters on the photocatalytic degradation of three textile azo dyes in aqueous TiO2 suspensions. J Photochem Photobiol A 172:89–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2004.11.009
Han J, Gao W (2009) Surface wettability of nanostructured zinc oxide films. J Electron Mater 38:601–608. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-008-0615-0
Han J, Qui W, Gao W (2010) Potential dissolution and photo-dissolution of ZnO thin films. J Hazard Mater 178:115–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.01.050
Kansal SK, Singh M, Sud D (2007) Studies on photodegradation of two commercial dyes in aqueous phase using different photocatalysts. J Hazard Mater 141:581–590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2006.07.035
Khorshidi B, Biswas I, Ghos T, Sadrzadeh M (2018) Robust fabrication of thin film polyamide-TiO2 nanocomposite membranes with enhanced thermal stability and anti-biofouling propensity. Sci Rep 8:784. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-18724-w
Khranovskyy V, Ekblad T, Yakimova R, Hultman L (2012) Surface morphology effects on the light-controlled wettability of ZnO nanostructures. Appl Surf Sci 258:8146–8152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2012.05.011
Madaeni SS, Gaemi N (2007) Characterization of self-cleaning RO membranes coated with TiO2 particles under UV irradiation. J Membr Sci 303:221–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2007.07.017
Madhura L, Kanchi S, Sabela MI et al (2018) Membrane technology for water purification. Environ Chem Lett 16:343–365. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-017-0699-y
Mansourpanah Y, Habili EM (2015) Investigation and characterization of TiO2-TFC nanocomposite membranes; membrane preparation and UV studies. J Membr Sci Res 1:26–33. https://doi.org/10.22079/JMSR.2015.12303
Mayyahi AA (2018) Thin-film composite (TFC) membrane modified by hybrid ZnO–graphene nanoparticles (ZnO–Gr NPs) for water desalination. J Environ Chem Eng 6:1109–1117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2018.01.035
Mills A, Lepre A, Elliott N (2003) Characterization of the photocatalyst Pilkington Activ™: a reference film photocatalysts. J Photochem Photobiol 160:213–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1010-6030(03)00205-3
Ramezani R, Peyravi M (2017) A support assisted by photocatalytic Fe3O4/ZnO nanocomposite for thin-film forward osmosis membrane. Chem Eng Res Des 133:11–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2018.02.029
Rezakazemi M, Dashti A, Riasat Harami H et al (2018) Fouling-resistant membranes for water reuse. Environ Chem Lett. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-018-0717-8
Shawky HA, Chae S, Lin S, Weisner MR (2011) Synthesis and characterization of a carbon nanotube/polymer nanocomposite membrane for water treatment. Desalination 272:46–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2010.12.051
Sun R, Nakajima A, Fujishima A, Watanabe T, Hashimoto K (2001) Photoinduced surface wettability conversion of ZnO and TiO2 thin films. J Phys Chem B 105:1984–1990. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp002525j
Villaseñor MJ, Ríos Á (2018) Nanomaterials for water cleaning and desalination, energy production, disinfection, agriculture and green chemistry. Environ Chem Lett 16:11–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-017-0656-9
Yin J, Deng B (2015) Polymer-matrix nanocomposite membranes for water treatment. J Membr Sci 479:256–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2014.11.019
Zhang R, Liu Y, He M et al (2016) Antifouling membranes for sustainable water purification: strategies and mechanisms. Chem Soc Rev 45:5888–5924. https://doi.org/10.1039/C5CS00579E
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mayyahi, A.A., Deng, B. Efficient water desalination using photo-responsive ZnO polyamide thin film nanocomposite membrane. Environ Chem Lett 16, 1469–1475 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-018-0758-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-018-0758-z