title: Elevated Performance of Thin Film Nanocomposite Membranes Enabled by Modified Hydrophilic MOFs for Nanofiltration.
abstract: Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are studied for the design of advanced nanocomposite membranes, primarily due to their ultrahigh surface area, regular and highly tunable pore structures, and favorable polymer affinity. However, the development of engineered MOF-based membranes for water treatment lags behind. Here, thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes containing poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) modified ZIF-8 (mZIF) in a polyamide (PA) layer were constructed via a facile interfacial polymerization (IP) method. The modified hydrophilic mZIF nanoparticles were evenly dispersed into an aqueous solution comprising piperazine (PIP) monomers, followed by polymerizing with trimesoyl chloride (TMC) to form a composite PA film. FT-IR spectroscopy and XPS analyses confirm the presence of mZIF nanoparticles on the top layer of the membranes. SEM and AFM images evince a retiform morphology of the TFN-mZIF membrane surface, which is intimately linked to the hydrophilicity and adsorption capacity of mZIF nanoparticles. Furthermore, the effect of different ZIF-8 loadings on the overall membrane performance was studied. Introducing the hydrophilizing mZIF nanoparticles not only furnishes the PA layer with a better surface hydrophilicity and more negative charge but also more than doubles the original water permeability, while maintaining a high retention of Na2SO4. The ultrahigh retentions of reactive dyes (e.g., reactive black 5 and reactive blue 2, >99.0%) for mZIF-functionalized PA membranes ensure their superior nanofiltration performance. This facile, cost-effective strategy will provide a useful guideline to integrate with other modified hydrophilic MOFs to design nanofiltration for water treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven , Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Junyong
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1200-715X
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering and Energy, Zhengzhou University , Zhengzhou 450001, China.
authors.forename: Lijuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2049-7240
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Uliana
authors.affiliation: UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales , Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Jingwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven , Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.|School of Chemical Engineering and Energy, Zhengzhou University , Zhengzhou 450001, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8549-852X
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering and Energy, Zhengzhou University , Zhengzhou 450001, China.
authors.forename: Yatao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven , Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven , Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Shushan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven , Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven , Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Miaomiao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: School of Environment and Resources, Qi Shan Campus, Fuzhou University , No. 2 Xueyuan Road, University Town, 350116 Fuzhou, Fujian, China.
authors.forename: Jiuyang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven , Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Van der Bruggen
keywords: MOF modification; ZIF-8; hydrophilizing; interfacial polymerization; nanofiltration; water treatment