title: Graphene Oxide Quantum Dots Incorporated into a Thin Film Nanocomposite Membrane with High Flux and Antifouling Properties for Low-Pressure Nanofiltration.
abstract: Graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQDs), novel carbon-based nanomaterials, have attracted tremendous research interest due to their unique properties associated with both graphene and quantum dots. In the present study, thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes comprising GOQDs dispersed within a tannic acid (TA) film were fabricated by an interfacial polymerization reaction for low-pressure nanofiltration (NF). The resultant TA/GOQDs TFN membranes had measurably smoother and more hydrophilic, negatively charged surfaces compared to the similarly formed TA thin film composite (TFC) membrane. Owing to the loose active layer structure and the combination of Donnan exclusion and steric hindrance, the TA/GOQDs TFN membrane showed a pure water flux up to 23.33 L/m2·h (0.2 MPa), which was 1.5 times more than that of pristine TA TFC membrane, while high dye rejection to Congo red (99.8%) and methylene blue (97.6%) was kept. In addition, the TA/GOQDs TFN membrane presented better antifouling properties, which was ascribed to the favorable changes in membrane hydrophilicity, ζ-potential, and surface roughness. These results indicated the great potential of such membranes in wastewater treatment, separation, and purification in many industrial fields.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Food Colloids and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University , Wuxi 214122, PR China.
authors.forename: Chunfang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Food Colloids and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University , Wuxi 214122, PR China.
authors.forename: Kaifang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Food Colloids and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University , Wuxi 214122, PR China.
authors.forename: Wenhai
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Food Colloids and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University , Wuxi 214122, PR China.
authors.forename: Yunxiang
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8469-4510
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Food Colloids and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University , Wuxi 214122, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Food Colloids and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University , Wuxi 214122, PR China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gu
keywords: antifouling; graphene oxide quantum dots; nanofiltraion membrane; tannic acid; thin film composite