Influence of copper oxide nanomaterials in a poly(ether sulfone) membrane for improved humic acid and oil–water separation |
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| Authors: | Pravallika Hassan Krishnamurthy Lukka Thuyavan Yogarathinam Arthanareeswaran Gangasalam Ahmad Fauzi Ismail |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Membrane Research Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, India;2. Department of Nanotechnology, Center for Postgraduate Studies, Visvesvaraya Institute of Advanced Technology, Visvesvaraya Technological University, Bengaluru Region, Muddenahalli, India;3. Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia |
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| Abstract: | In this study, self‐synthesized copper(I) oxide (Cu2O) nanoparticles were incorporated in poly(ether sulfone) (PES) mixed‐matrix membranes (MMMs) through the phase‐inversion method. A cubic arrangement and crystallite size of 28 nm was identified by transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) for the as‐synthesized Cu2O particles. The pristine PES membrane had a higher contact angle value of 88.50°, which was significantly reduced up to 50.10° for 1.5 wt % PES/Cu2O MMMs. Moreover, XRD analysis of the Cu2O‐incorporated PES membrane exhibited a new diffraction pattern at 36.46°. This ensured that the Cu2O nanoparticles were distributed well in the PES matrix. Interestingly, the water permeability progressively improved up to 66.72 × 10?9 m s?1 kPa?1 for 1.5 wt % PES/Cu2O MMMs. Furthermore, the membrane performances were also evaluated with different feed solutions: (1) bovine serum albumin, (2) humic acid, and (3) oil–water. The enhanced rejection and lower flux reduction percentage were observed for hybrid membranes. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43873. |
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| Keywords: | membranes properties and characterization separation techniques |
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