Designing e cient membranes for desalination to help reduce the water shortage crisis has been the subject of various studies. In this study, rst, CuAl LDH nanosheets were prepared and the surface of some thin-lm composite (TFC) membranes was modi ed by them. Afterward, the novel heterostructure nanocomposite consisting of CuAl LDH and WS 2 nanosheets was synthesized by hydrothermal method, and a new kind of thin-lm nanocomposite (TFN) membranes were made using them. All the obtained membranes performance was studied in the forward osmosis (FO) process. The effects of the prepared compounds on the morphology, chemical structure, hydrophilicity, and topology of the polyamide (PA) active layer were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FT-IR spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), water contact angle (WCA) goniometer and atomic force microscope (AFM) analysis. Finally, by comparing the results for both types of modi ed membranes, the membrane containing 0.025 wt% of the nanocomposite modi er showed the highest water ux (29.30 LMH) and selectivity (0.38 g/L) that was chosen as the optimal membrane. Also, the anti-fouling properties of this membrane were studied and the obtained results showed an increase in the fouling resistance compared to the membrane without ller.
HighlightsFO membranes were modi ed separately using CuAl LDH and WS 2 /CuAl LDH nanosheets.The incorporated nanosheets provided a hydrophile and smooth surface for the polyamide active layer.WS 2 /CuAl LDH nanocomposite modi ed membranes exhibited better selectivity than TFC and CuAl LDH modi ed membranes.TFN-WL 2 membranes as the optimal membrane showed higher anti-fouling properties compared to the TFC membrane.