Scientific reports 2015-01-01

High-performance multi-functional reverse osmosis membranes obtained by carbon nanotube·polyamide nanocomposite.

Shigeki Inukai, Rodolfo Cruz-Silva, Josue Ortiz-Medina, Aaron Morelos-Gomez, Kenji Takeuchi, Takuya Hayashi, Akihiko Tanioka, Takumi Araki, Syogo Tejima, Toru Noguchi, Mauricio Terrones, Morinobu Endo

Index: Sci. Rep. 5 , 13562, (2015)

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Abstract

Clean water obtained by desalinating sea water or by purifying wastewater, constitutes a major technological objective in the so-called water century. In this work, a high-performance reverse osmosis (RO) composite thin membrane using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and aromatic polyamide (PA), was successfully prepared by interfacial polymerization. The effect of MWCNT on the chlorine resistance, antifouling and desalination performances of the nanocomposite membranes were studied. We found that a suitable amount of MWCNT in PA, 15.5 wt.%, not only improves the membrane performance in terms of flow and antifouling, but also inhibits the chlorine degradation on these membranes. Therefore, the present results clearly establish a solid foundation towards more efficient large-scale water desalination and other water treatment processes.