Customizing surface grafting and interlayer functionalization for PFOA separation in polyamide membranes

Emerging contaminants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pose significant challenges to ensuring a clean drinking water supply. This study evaluates various fabrication techniques for incorporating silver-based metal-organic frameworks (Ag-MOFs) into polyamide (PA) nanofiltration (...

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Main Authors: Mohsen Pilevar, Hesam Jafarian, Nima Behzadnia, Qiaoli Liang, Sanam Etemadi Maleki, Sadegh Aghapour Aktij, Mohtada Sadrzadeh, Leigh Terry, Mark Elliott, Mostafa Dadashi Firouzjaei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Water Research X
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S258991472500057X
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author Mohsen Pilevar
Hesam Jafarian
Nima Behzadnia
Qiaoli Liang
Sanam Etemadi Maleki
Sadegh Aghapour Aktij
Mohtada Sadrzadeh
Leigh Terry
Mark Elliott
Mostafa Dadashi Firouzjaei
author_facet Mohsen Pilevar
Hesam Jafarian
Nima Behzadnia
Qiaoli Liang
Sanam Etemadi Maleki
Sadegh Aghapour Aktij
Mohtada Sadrzadeh
Leigh Terry
Mark Elliott
Mostafa Dadashi Firouzjaei
author_sort Mohsen Pilevar
collection DOAJ
description Emerging contaminants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pose significant challenges to ensuring a clean drinking water supply. This study evaluates various fabrication techniques for incorporating silver-based metal-organic frameworks (Ag-MOFs) into polyamide (PA) nanofiltration (NF) membranes to enhance perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) separation and anti-fouling performance. Various characterizations, including scanning and transmission electron microscopy, carboxylic group density, molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) measurements, and zeta potential analyses revealed that each method imparts distinct physicochemical and morphological characteristics to the modified membranes. Among all fabricated membranes, the interlayered Ag-MOFs (UI-MOF) obtained the highest permeance (13.7 Lm−2h−1bar−1) but the lowest PFOA rejection (88.9 %), likely due to its loose PA network with large MWCO (522 Da) and high carboxylic group density (82.0 sites/nm2). In contrast, the dip-coating surface-grafted Ag-MOFs (DS-MOF) achieved the highest PFOA rejection (93.4 %), attributed to its narrow pores (average pore diameter of 10 Å ± 0.06). Additionally, all modified membranes showed superior anti-fouling performance (flux recovery ratio > 94.0 %) compared to the Blank PA membrane, likely due to the improved surface hydrophilicity of the modified membranes.
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publishDate 2025-05-01
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spelling doaj-art-938eca2b4b6d4464b0d9f8d596194e082025-08-20T03:47:02ZengElsevierWater Research X2589-91472025-05-012710035810.1016/j.wroa.2025.100358Customizing surface grafting and interlayer functionalization for PFOA separation in polyamide membranesMohsen Pilevar0Hesam Jafarian1Nima Behzadnia2Qiaoli Liang3Sanam Etemadi Maleki4Sadegh Aghapour Aktij5Mohtada Sadrzadeh6Leigh Terry7Mark Elliott8Mostafa Dadashi Firouzjaei9Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USADepartment of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USADepartment of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USADepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USADepartment of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, 10-241 Donadeo Innovation Center for Engineering, Advanced Water Research Lab (AWRL), University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1H9, Canada; Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1H9, CanadaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, 10-241 Donadeo Innovation Center for Engineering, Advanced Water Research Lab (AWRL), University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1H9, CanadaDepartment of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USADepartment of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA; Corresponding authors.Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, 10-241 Donadeo Innovation Center for Engineering, Advanced Water Research Lab (AWRL), University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1H9, Canada; Corresponding authors.Emerging contaminants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pose significant challenges to ensuring a clean drinking water supply. This study evaluates various fabrication techniques for incorporating silver-based metal-organic frameworks (Ag-MOFs) into polyamide (PA) nanofiltration (NF) membranes to enhance perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) separation and anti-fouling performance. Various characterizations, including scanning and transmission electron microscopy, carboxylic group density, molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) measurements, and zeta potential analyses revealed that each method imparts distinct physicochemical and morphological characteristics to the modified membranes. Among all fabricated membranes, the interlayered Ag-MOFs (UI-MOF) obtained the highest permeance (13.7 Lm−2h−1bar−1) but the lowest PFOA rejection (88.9 %), likely due to its loose PA network with large MWCO (522 Da) and high carboxylic group density (82.0 sites/nm2). In contrast, the dip-coating surface-grafted Ag-MOFs (DS-MOF) achieved the highest PFOA rejection (93.4 %), attributed to its narrow pores (average pore diameter of 10 Å ± 0.06). Additionally, all modified membranes showed superior anti-fouling performance (flux recovery ratio > 94.0 %) compared to the Blank PA membrane, likely due to the improved surface hydrophilicity of the modified membranes.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S258991472500057XPFASWastewater treatmentMetal-organic framework (Ag-MOF)Thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranesFoulingNanofiltration
spellingShingle Mohsen Pilevar
Hesam Jafarian
Nima Behzadnia
Qiaoli Liang
Sanam Etemadi Maleki
Sadegh Aghapour Aktij
Mohtada Sadrzadeh
Leigh Terry
Mark Elliott
Mostafa Dadashi Firouzjaei
Customizing surface grafting and interlayer functionalization for PFOA separation in polyamide membranes
Water Research X
PFAS
Wastewater treatment
Metal-organic framework (Ag-MOF)
Thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes
Fouling
Nanofiltration
title Customizing surface grafting and interlayer functionalization for PFOA separation in polyamide membranes
title_full Customizing surface grafting and interlayer functionalization for PFOA separation in polyamide membranes
title_fullStr Customizing surface grafting and interlayer functionalization for PFOA separation in polyamide membranes
title_full_unstemmed Customizing surface grafting and interlayer functionalization for PFOA separation in polyamide membranes
title_short Customizing surface grafting and interlayer functionalization for PFOA separation in polyamide membranes
title_sort customizing surface grafting and interlayer functionalization for pfoa separation in polyamide membranes
topic PFAS
Wastewater treatment
Metal-organic framework (Ag-MOF)
Thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes
Fouling
Nanofiltration
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S258991472500057X
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