Preparation of novel polysulfone-Fe304/G0 mixed -matrix membrane for humic acid rejection

In this study, novel polysulfone-Fe304/G0 mixed -matrix membrane was prepared by embedding the iron -decorated graphene oxide (Fe304/G0) into polysulfone (PSf) polymer. First, graphene oxide (GO) nanoplates were synthesized using natural graphite powder according to the Hummers method. Fe304/G0 was then prepared by mixing both GO and Fe304 in the presence of ammonia hydroxide (NH4OH) according to co -precipitation method. A series of test, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) were performed to characterize the produced Fe3 04/G0 nano -hybrid. Mixed -matrix membrane was fabricated by casting the pre -mix PSf-Fe304/G0 polymer solution mixture using phase inversion method. The performance of both neat PSf membrane and novel polysulfoneFe304/G0 mixed -matrix membrane were evaluated by measuring the membrane permeate flux and humic acid rejection. Experiment demonstrated that the novel polysulfone-Fe304/G0 mixed -matrix membrane was having 3 times higher permeate flux than the neat PSf membrane despite the drop in humic acid rejection from 89 + 2% to 84 + 2%. However, polysulfone-Fe3 04/G0 mixed -matrix membrane permeability was increased with the compensation of decreasing retention capacity due to pore size enlargement, higher porosity as well as higher hydrophilicity. 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.