Role of NaA zeolites in the interfacial polymerization process towards a polyamide nanocomposite reverse osmosis membrane

This paper explores the behaviour and role of NaA nanozeolites during an interfacial polymerization process towards a polyamide thin film nanocomposite (TFN) reverse osmosis membrane by incorporating nanozeolites into two different reactive phases. In the two cases, the different interactions occurring between the zeolites and polyamide were investigated by FT-IR spectra, XPS analysis, and examining the membrane morphology and the desalination performance. The polyamide TFN membrane with an increased degree of cross-linking was obtained with nanozeolites in the organic phase, as the NaA zeolite reacted with the acyl chloride monomer in the organic phase. Additionally, the membrane with nanozeolites added to the organic phase had a superior reverse osmosis performance, since the porous zeolite appeared in the top layer as a water channel.