Preparation and characterization of polysulfone/graphene oxide nanocomposite membranes for the separation of methylene blue from water

Composite membranes are known to be promising platform for treatment of water and wastewaters. The aim of this work was to produce an effective and versatile hazardous material separation platform, polysulfone/graphene oxide (PSf/GO) nanocomposite membranes with different ratios of GO. The nanocomposite membranes were prepared through phase inversion technique and characterized by Fourier transform infrared, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscope. The results from the GO and PSf/GO analyses confirmed the formation of exfoliated GO nanosheets and relatively the homogeneous dispersion of GO in the PSf nanocomposite membranes. Addition of GO to the membrane matrix led to about 10 degrees decrease in the contact angle, which nearly remained constant for all the composite membranes. The prepared membranes (i.e., PSf/GO and blank PSf membranes) were used for the separation of methylene blue from aqueous solution. In comparison with PSf membrane, PSf/GO membrane exhibited a remarkable adsorption/separation behavior.