Abstract Membrane fouling in membrane filtration technology is the major obstacle in maximizing its efficiency leading to short membrane lifetime and high operating cost. Here we reported that the use of oxidized nanocarbon black (ONC) in the preparation of composite ultrafiltration membrane, suppresses the fouling together with improved hydrophilicity and water permeate flux. Nanocarbon black (NC) was oxidized using ammonium persulfate, while morphology, nature and extent of oxidized groups were determined through scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and ion exchange capacity (IEC) measurement. The dispersion of the ONC was stable in organic solvent (NMP) and in DI water even after 6 months. Oxidized nanocarbon black was incorporated in polysulfone matrix to prepare nanocomposite membranes (CNC) through phase inversion method. The influence of ONC on surface morphology, surface chemical composition, hydrophilicity, mechanical strength, surface negative charge, porosity, ultrafiltration and antifouling characteristics were evaluated. The results showed that inclusion of 1.0 wt% ONC enhance water permeate flux from 188.5 to 307 L m−2 h−1, protein rejection up to 97.6%, highest flux recovery ratio of 89.4% after three cycle permeation and lowest irreversible fouling of 10.5%. Considering relatively low cost, excellent antifouling properties and mechanical strength of CNC membranes, make it potential candidate as antifouling membrane for water purification.

中文翻译：

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聚砜/改性纳米炭黑复合防污超滤膜的制备与表征

摘要 膜过滤技术中的膜污染是其效率最大化的主要障碍，导致膜寿命短和运行成本高。在这里，我们报道了在复合超滤膜的制备中使用氧化纳米炭黑 (ONC) 抑制污垢，同时提高亲水性和水渗透通量。用过硫酸铵氧化纳米炭黑（NC），同时通过扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、X射线光电子能谱（XPS）、傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）、热重分析等测定氧化基团的形貌、性质和程度（ TGA) 和离子交换容量 (IEC) 测量。即使在 6 个月后，ONC 的分散体在有机溶剂 (NMP) 和去离子水中也是稳定的。将氧化纳米炭黑掺入聚砜基质中，通过相转化法制备纳米复合膜（CNC）。评估了ONC对表面形态、表面化学成分、亲水性、机械强度、表面负电荷、孔隙率、超滤和防污特性的影响。结果表明，包含 1.0 wt% ONC 将水渗透通量从 188.5 L m-2 h-1 提高到 307 L m-2 h-1，蛋白质截留率高达 97.6%，三个循环渗透后的最高通量回收率为 89.4%，最低不可逆污染为 10.5 %。考虑到CNC膜相对较低的成本、优异的防污性能和机械强度，使其成为水净化防污膜的潜在候选者。