title: Fabrication and characterization of a polysulfone-graphene oxide nanocomposite membrane for arsenate rejection from water.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nowadays, study and application of modified membranes for water treatment have been considered significantly. The aim of this study was to prepare and characterize a polysulfone (PSF)/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposite membrane and to evaluate for arsenate rejection from water.
  
  
  METHODS
  The nanocomposite PSF/GO membrane was fabricated using wet phase inversion method. The effect of GO on the synthesized membrane morphology and hydrophilicity was studied by using FE-SEM, AFM, contact angle, zeta potential, porosity and pore size tests. The membrane performance was also evaluated in terms of pure water flux and arsenate rejection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ATR-FTIR confirmed the presence of hydrophilic functional groups on the surface of the prepared GO. FE-SEM micrographs showed that with increasing GO content in the casting solution, the sub-layer structure was enhanced and the drop like voids in the pure PSF membrane changed to macrovoids in PSF/GO membrane along with increase in porosity. AFM images indicated lower roughness of modified membrane compared to pure PSF membrane. Furthermore, contact angle measurement and permeation experiment showed that by increasing GO up to 1 wt%, membrane hydrophilicity and pure water flux were increased. For PSF/GO-1, pure water flux was calculated about 50 L/m(2)h at 4 bar. The maximum rejection was obtained by PSF/GO-2 about 83.65 % at 4 bar. Moreover, it was revealed that arsenate rejection depended on solution pH values. It was showed that with increasing pH, the rejection increased.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed that application of GO as an additive to PSF casting solution could enhance the membrane hydrophilicity, porosity, flux and arsenate rejection.
authors: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Reza
authors: R
authors: Rezaee
authors: Center for Water Quality Research, Institute for Environmental Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Simin
authors: S
authors: Nasseri
authors: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; Center for Solid Waste Research, Institute for Environmental Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; National Institute of Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Amir Hossein
authors: AH
authors: Mahvi
authors: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Ramin
authors: R
authors: Nabizadeh
authors: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Seyyed Abbas
authors: SA
authors: Mousavi
authors: Nanotechnology Research Center, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), Tehran, Iran.
authors: Alimorad
authors: A
authors: Rashidi
authors: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
authors: Ali
authors: A
authors: Jafari
authors: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Shahrokh
authors: S
authors: Nazmara
keywords: Arsenate; Graphene oxide; Hydrophilicity; Mixed matrix membrane; Polysulfone