High-Performance Reverse Osmosis CNT/Polyamide Nanocomposite Membrane by Controlled Interfacial Interactions

Polyamide reverse osmosis (RO) membranes with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are prepared by interfacial polymerization using trimesoyl chloride (TMC) solutions in n-hexane and aqueous solutions of m-phenylenediamine (MPD) containing functionalized CNTs. The functionalized CNTs are prepared by the reactions of pristine CNTs with acid mixture (sulfuric acid and nitric acid of 3:1 volume ratio) by varying amounts of acid, reaction temperature, and reaction time. CNTs prepared by an optimized reaction condition are found to be well-dispersed in the polyamide layer, which is confirmed from atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy studies. The polyamide RO membranes containing well-dispersed CNTs exhibit larger water flux values than polyamide membrane prepared without any CNTs, although the salt rejection values of these membranes are close. Furthermore, the dur…