Fabrication of high-performance mixed matrix blend membranes comprising PES and TPU reinforced with APTS functionalized-graphene oxide via VIPS-NIPS technique for aqueous dye treatment and antifouling properties

In recent decades, the preparation and design of nanofiltration (NF) membranes were significantly progressed for dye rejection application in various industries, such as the textile industry. Moreover, it is well-known that the membrane antifouling property is another factor that is very important in evaluating NF membrane performance. In this article, some NF membranes have been fabricated by the incorporation of various amounts of polyethersulfone (PES), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), and APTS functionalized-graphene oxide (GO-APTS) nanosheets. The GO-APTS nanosheets has been prepared utilizing the improved hummer's procedure for the fabrication of graphene oxide (GO), followed by adding (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTS). The mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have been generated via the VIPS-NIPS procedure to enhance the removal performance of the prepared membranes. Tensile analyses data exhibited that TPU blending and GO-APTS embedding into the PES improve the tensile strength and elongation at break of the prepared membranes. The dye removal ability of the membranes has been studied in terms of removing methylene blue (MB), crystal violet (CV), methyl green (MG), and direct yellow 29 (DY-29). It is worth pointing out that due to the superior permeation (5.08 L/m2.h.bar) along with the outstanding separation ability (97.3%, 98.1%, 98.7%, and 99.4% for MB, CV, MG, and DY-29, respectively), the optimized nanoparticle-containing membrane (M7) was selected as the excellent membrane in dye separation. Suitable hydrophilicity of TPU and GO-APTS also turned the M7 membrane into a membrane with high resistance against fouling, so the FRR and Rt values reached 92.9% and 53.2%, respectively.