Preparation and characterization of CeO2@high silica ZSM-5 inorganic-organic hybrid polyamide nanofiltration membrane

Abstract Nanofiltration with high stable permeance is of great significance for wastewater treatment. Herein, we reported the novel polyamide thin-film composite (PA TFC) nanofiltration membranes prepared for the first time by blending nanometer cerium doped high silica ZSM-5 zeolites (CeO2@HSZSM-5, CHZ) in the aqueous phase followed by the classic interfacial polycondensation. The structural morphology of these membranes and their performance had been characterized. SEM and XPS characterizations clearly revealed the presence of inorganic CHZ in the PA layer. The results also showed that the CHZ-integrated inorganic-organic PA TFC membranes with a higher fraction of CHZ had a thinner PA active layer (28.3 ± 3.6 nm) and slightly enlarged pore size with lower crosslinking degree. The optimized membranes exhibited 1.65-folds pure water permeability of the traditional membrane, 20.3 L/(m2.h.bar) with comparable Na2SO4 and MgSO4 rejection of 95.8% and 91.1%, respectively. The rejection of dyes stayed stable above 96.0% with boosted permeance, and the membrane almost completely removed CR and RB as well as natural organic matters. The composite membrane also sustained superior stability and excellent antifouling performance. The as-prepared CHZ-integrated PA TFC membranes with regulatable structural morphology and superior separation properties enables the potential practical application in wastewater treatment.