Influence of Multidimensional Graphene Oxide (GO) Sheets on Anti-Biofouling and Desalination Performance of Thin-Film Composite Membranes: Effects of GO Lateral Sizes and Oxidation Degree

Abstract

The influence of the lateral size and the content of graphene oxide (GO) flakes in specific oxygenate functional groups on the anti-biofouling properties and performance of thin-film composite membrane (TFC) was studied. Three different multidimensional GO samples were prepared with small (500–1200 nm), medium (1200–2300 nm), and large (2300–3600 nm) size distribution, and with different degrees of oxidation (GO3 > GO2 > GO1), varying the concentration of the hydrogen peroxide amount during GO synthesis. GO1 sheets’ length have a heterogeneous size distribution containing all size groups, whilst GO2 is contained in a medium-size group, and GO3 is totally contained within a small-size group. Moreover, GO oxygenate groups were controlled. GO2 and GO3 have hydroxyl and epoxy groups at the basal plane of their sheets. Meanwhile, GO1 presented only hydroxyl groups. GO sheets were incorporated into the polyamide (PA) layer of the TFC membrane during the interfacial polymerization reaction. The incorporation of GO1 produced a modified membrane with excellent bactericidal properties and anti-adhesion capacity, as well as superior desalination performance with high water flow (133% as compared with the unmodified membrane). For GO2 and GO3, despite the significant anti-biofouling effect, a detrimental impact on desalination performance was observed. The high content of large sheets in GO2 and small sheet stacking in GO3 produced an unfavorable impact on the water flow. Therefore, the synergistic effect due to the presence of large- and small-sized GO sheets and high content of OH-functional groups (GO1) made it possible to balance the performance of the membrane.

Defect Engineering in GO Membranes – Tailoring Size and Oxidation Degree of Nanosheet for Enhanced Pore Channels

“…On the other hand, GO2 with large dimensions and GO3 with small dimensions had a negative impact on the desalination performance. Therefore, a balance between lateral dimensions and oxygen‐containing functional groups is crucial for achieving excellent membrane performance [58] . Li He et al.…”

“…Therefore, a balance between lateral dimensions and oxygen-containing functional groups is crucial for achieving excellent membrane performance. [58] Li He et al successfully embedded graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets into 200 nm thick polyamide membrane using an interfacial polymerization method, creating a novel TFC membrane. The lateral dimensions of the graphene oxide nanosheets ranged from 200 to 800 nm, however, the water flux and rexhibited superior performance compared to the GO/ poly(amide) TFC.…”

Highly efficient aramid fiber supported polypropylene membranes modified with reduced graphene oxide based metallic nanocomposites: antimicrobial and antiviral capabilities

“…GO1 exhibited excellent bactericidal properties and enhanced desalination performance, while GO2 and GO3 showed signicant anti-biofouling effects but negatively impacted water ow due to large-sized sheets and high content of OH-functional groups. 15 Synthesis of GO modied membranes, phase inversion has found use. For instance, this method recovered 95.3% of the ow by carboxylated-GO/PPYSU augmented membranes.…”

Effect of Temperature on Energy Consumption and Polarization in Reverse Osmosis Desalination Using a Spray-Cooled Photovoltaic System

“…The main disadvantage of RO desalinization is high energy consumption [14] since it requires high hydraulic pressure to oppose and exceed the osmotic pressure of the saline water [7,15], increasing RO product water costs, representing 50% of the produced Energies 2022, 15, 7787 2 of 15 water cost [16], making this technology economically unfeasible for low-income countries. In addition, the RO membranes are easy to foul [17] by different compounds such as inorganic, organic, scaling and biological [18]. The scaling occurs when the solubility of mineral salts in the feed water is exceeded, causing salt precipitation, permeate flux reduction, water flux recovery reduction and increasing maintenance costs [19,20].…”