Enhancing Water Purification by Integrating Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes into Polyethersulfone Membranes for Improved Hydrophilicity and Anti-Fouling Performance
Water pollution remains a critical concern, one necessitated by rapidly increasing industrialization and urbanization. Among the various strategies for water purification, membrane technology stands out, with polyethersulfone (PES) often being the material of choice due to its robust mechanical prop...
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MDPI AG
2024-05-01
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| Series: | Membranes |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/14/5/116 |
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| author | Ayesha Bilal Muhammad Yasin Faheem Hassan Akhtar Mazhar Amjad Gilani Hamad Almohamadi Mohammad Younas Azeem Mushtaq Muhammad Aslam Mehdi Hassan Rab Nawaz Aqsha Aqsha Jaka Sunarso Muhammad Roil Bilad Asim Laeeq Khan |
| author_facet | Ayesha Bilal Muhammad Yasin Faheem Hassan Akhtar Mazhar Amjad Gilani Hamad Almohamadi Mohammad Younas Azeem Mushtaq Muhammad Aslam Mehdi Hassan Rab Nawaz Aqsha Aqsha Jaka Sunarso Muhammad Roil Bilad Asim Laeeq Khan |
| author_sort | Ayesha Bilal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Water pollution remains a critical concern, one necessitated by rapidly increasing industrialization and urbanization. Among the various strategies for water purification, membrane technology stands out, with polyethersulfone (PES) often being the material of choice due to its robust mechanical properties, thermal stability, and chemical resistance. However, PES-based membranes tend to exhibit low hydrophilicity, leading to reduced flux and poor anti-fouling performance. This study addresses these limitations by incorporating titanium dioxide nanotubes (TiO<sub>2</sub>NTs) into PES nanofiltration membranes to enhance their hydrophilic properties. The TiO<sub>2</sub>NTs, characterized through FTIR, XRD, BET, and SEM, were embedded in PES at varying concentrations using a non-solvent induced phase inversion (NIPS) method. The fabricated mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were subjected to testing for water permeability and solute rejection capabilities. Remarkably, membranes with a 1 wt% TiO<sub>2</sub>NT loading displayed a significant increase in pure water flux, from 36 to 72 L m<sup>2</sup> h<sup>?1</sup> bar<sup>?1</sup>, a 300-fold increase in selectivity compared to the pristine sample, and a dye rejection of 99%. Furthermore, long-term stability tests showed only a slight reduction in permeate flux over a time of 36 h, while dye removal efficiency was maintained, thus confirming the membrane’s stability. Anti-fouling tests revealed a 93% flux recovery ratio, indicating excellent resistance to fouling. These results suggest that the inclusion of TiO<sub>2</sub> NTs offers a promising avenue for the development of efficient and stable anti-fouling PES-based membranes for water purification. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e26586b619cc4aa8a70977c801495fa2 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2077-0375 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Membranes |
| spelling | doaj-art-e26586b619cc4aa8a70977c801495fa22025-08-20T03:08:28ZengMDPI AGMembranes2077-03752024-05-0114511610.3390/membranes14050116Enhancing Water Purification by Integrating Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes into Polyethersulfone Membranes for Improved Hydrophilicity and Anti-Fouling PerformanceAyesha Bilal0Muhammad Yasin1Faheem Hassan Akhtar2Mazhar Amjad Gilani3Hamad Almohamadi4Mohammad Younas5Azeem Mushtaq6Muhammad Aslam7Mehdi Hassan8Rab Nawaz9Aqsha Aqsha10Jaka Sunarso11Muhammad Roil Bilad12Asim Laeeq Khan13Department of Chemistry, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Lahore 54000, PakistanDepartment of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Lahore 54000, PakistanDepartment of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore 54792, PakistanDepartment of Chemistry, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Lahore 54000, PakistanDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Islamic University of Madinah, Madinah 42351, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical, Chemical and Industrial Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar 25120, PakistanDepartment of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Lahore 54000, PakistanDepartment of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Lahore 54000, PakistanDepartment of Chemistry, University of Baltistan, Skardu 16100, PakistanCenter for Applied Mathematics and Bioinformatics (CAMB), Gulf University for Science and Technology, Hawally 32093, KuwaitDepartment of Bioenergy Engineering and Chemurgy, Faculty of Industrial Technology, Institute Teknologi Bandung, Bandung 40132, IndonesiaResearch Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science, Swinburne University of Technology, Jalan Simpang Tiga, Kuching 93350, Sarawak, MalaysiaFaculty of Integrated Technologies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Gadong BE 1410, BruneiDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Islamic University of Madinah, Madinah 42351, Saudi ArabiaWater pollution remains a critical concern, one necessitated by rapidly increasing industrialization and urbanization. Among the various strategies for water purification, membrane technology stands out, with polyethersulfone (PES) often being the material of choice due to its robust mechanical properties, thermal stability, and chemical resistance. However, PES-based membranes tend to exhibit low hydrophilicity, leading to reduced flux and poor anti-fouling performance. This study addresses these limitations by incorporating titanium dioxide nanotubes (TiO<sub>2</sub>NTs) into PES nanofiltration membranes to enhance their hydrophilic properties. The TiO<sub>2</sub>NTs, characterized through FTIR, XRD, BET, and SEM, were embedded in PES at varying concentrations using a non-solvent induced phase inversion (NIPS) method. The fabricated mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were subjected to testing for water permeability and solute rejection capabilities. Remarkably, membranes with a 1 wt% TiO<sub>2</sub>NT loading displayed a significant increase in pure water flux, from 36 to 72 L m<sup>2</sup> h<sup>?1</sup> bar<sup>?1</sup>, a 300-fold increase in selectivity compared to the pristine sample, and a dye rejection of 99%. Furthermore, long-term stability tests showed only a slight reduction in permeate flux over a time of 36 h, while dye removal efficiency was maintained, thus confirming the membrane’s stability. Anti-fouling tests revealed a 93% flux recovery ratio, indicating excellent resistance to fouling. These results suggest that the inclusion of TiO<sub>2</sub> NTs offers a promising avenue for the development of efficient and stable anti-fouling PES-based membranes for water purification.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/14/5/116mixed matrix membranesTiO<sub>2</sub> nanotubeswater purification |
| spellingShingle | Ayesha Bilal Muhammad Yasin Faheem Hassan Akhtar Mazhar Amjad Gilani Hamad Almohamadi Mohammad Younas Azeem Mushtaq Muhammad Aslam Mehdi Hassan Rab Nawaz Aqsha Aqsha Jaka Sunarso Muhammad Roil Bilad Asim Laeeq Khan Enhancing Water Purification by Integrating Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes into Polyethersulfone Membranes for Improved Hydrophilicity and Anti-Fouling Performance Membranes mixed matrix membranes TiO<sub>2</sub> nanotubes water purification |
| title | Enhancing Water Purification by Integrating Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes into Polyethersulfone Membranes for Improved Hydrophilicity and Anti-Fouling Performance |
| title_full | Enhancing Water Purification by Integrating Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes into Polyethersulfone Membranes for Improved Hydrophilicity and Anti-Fouling Performance |
| title_fullStr | Enhancing Water Purification by Integrating Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes into Polyethersulfone Membranes for Improved Hydrophilicity and Anti-Fouling Performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancing Water Purification by Integrating Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes into Polyethersulfone Membranes for Improved Hydrophilicity and Anti-Fouling Performance |
| title_short | Enhancing Water Purification by Integrating Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes into Polyethersulfone Membranes for Improved Hydrophilicity and Anti-Fouling Performance |
| title_sort | enhancing water purification by integrating titanium dioxide nanotubes into polyethersulfone membranes for improved hydrophilicity and anti fouling performance |
| topic | mixed matrix membranes TiO<sub>2</sub> nanotubes water purification |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/14/5/116 |
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