Thin film nanocomposite nanofiltration with tannic acid-Fe(III) complexes functionalized Ti3C2T for enhanced divalent-salinity-water separation with a superior durability

Incorporating nanomaterials for a thin film nanocomposite (TFN) layer has been verified effective to improve the separation performance of nanofiltration (NF) membranes, whereas the poor compatibility between nanomaterials and polyamide (PA) matrix leads to a decrease in the salt rejection and pollution resistance. In this study, inspired by a new interface-bridging idea, Ti3C2Tx was bonded with tannic acid-Fe(III) (TA-Fe(III)) complexes, and then incorporated into a PA matrix for the first time to obtain a novel TFN NF membrane. The introduction of TA-Ti3C2Tx was found to effectively reduce the diffusion of piperazine, and thus result in the induction of a thinner, lower roughness, more hydrophilic, and defect-free PA layer. With the addition of 0.015 wt% TA-Ti3C2Tx, the TFN membrane obtained the highest water permeability of 12.17 L m−2 h−1 bar−1, almost twice that of the pristine membrane, with a high Na2SO4 rejection above 97 %. In addition, the TA-Ti3C2Tx-filled TFN membranes were verified to exhibit excellent antifouling performance and pressure resistance with a high durability, which is crucial for the practical application in salinity water treatment. This study provides an effective strategy to tailor the interfacial microstructural of nanoparticle-filled NF membranes for superior divalent-salinity-water separation.