surface modification of polyethersulfone nanofiltration membranes by nanocomposite layer containing poss nanoparticles

In this research, a nanocomposite layer containing poss nanoparticles was applied to improve the properties and surface modification of polyether sulfone nanofiltration membranes. the impact of the surface modification, on the structure, separation, and other properties of the membranes was checked. the pristine membranes were prepared via the phase inversion method. also, the surface of the membrane was modified by the dip coating method. the characterization of the fabricated membranes was done by ftir, sem and afm analysis. moreover, the separation performance of membranes was examined by the contact angle, porosity measurement, water content, pure water flux (pwf), na2so4 rejection, crso4 rejection and flux recovery ratio (frr%). the ftir results proved the creation of a nanocomposite layer with the poss nanoparticles on the surface of the virginal membrane. sem images demonstrated the presence of a new layer on the surface of the modified membranes, exhibiting uniform distribution. the amount of water content for double-layer membranes exhibited an increasing trend in comparison to virginal membranes. also, the results of the contact angle showed a decrease in the surface roughness for the modified membranes then with increasing concentration of glycidyl-pass nanoparticles, that is a hydrophobic substance, went through a decreasing trend. by increasing acrylic acid, the porosity was enhanced but after utilizing glycidyl-pass nanoparticles, it showed a decreasing trend. also, the pure water flux showed a decreasing trend. the rate of return had an increasing trend for the membranes. the addition of glycidyl-pass nanoparticles up to 0.1% by weight resulted in the yield of 59.74% na2so4 and 64% for crso4.