Abstract In this study, the polyamide (PA) layers of commercial thin-film composite (TFC) forward osmosis (FO) membranes were coated with glutaraldehyde cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel comprising of graphene oxide (GO) at various loadings to enhance their fouling resistance. The optimal GO concentration of 0.02 wt% in hydrogel solution was confirmed from the FO membrane performance, and its influence on membrane antifouling properties was studied. The properties of the modified membranes, such as surface morphology, surface charge and wettability, were also investigated. PVA/GO coating was observed to increase the smoothness and hydrophilicity of the membrane surface. The foulant resistances of the pristine, PVA-coated and PVA/GO-coated membranes were also reported. PVA hydrogel-coated TFC membrane with a GO loading of 0.02 wt% showed a 55% reduction in specific reverse solute flux, only a marginal reduction in the water flux, and the best antifouling property with a 58% higher flux recovery than the pristine TFC membrane. The significant improvement in the selectivity of the modified membranes meant that the hydrogel coating could be used to seal PA defects. The biocidal GO flakes in PVA hydrogel coating also improved the biofouling resistance of the modified membranes, which could be attributed to their morphologies and superior surface properties.

中文翻译：

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聚乙烯醇-氧化石墨烯复合水凝胶对薄膜复合正向渗透膜的表面改性以提高防污性能

摘要 在本研究中，商用薄膜复合材料 (TFC) 正向渗透 (FO) 膜的聚酰胺 (PA) 层涂有包含不同负载量的氧化石墨烯 (GO) 的戊二醛交联聚乙烯醇 (PVA) 水凝胶，以增强其抗污能力。从 FO 膜性能证实了水凝胶溶液中 0.02 wt% 的最佳 GO 浓度，并研究了其对膜防污性能的影响。还研究了改性膜的性质，例如表面形态、表面电荷和润湿性。观察到 PVA/GO 涂层增加了膜表面的光滑度和亲水性。还报告了原始、PVA 涂层和 PVA/GO 涂层膜的耐污性。PVA 水凝胶涂层 TFC 膜，GO 负载量为 0。02 wt% 显示特定反向溶质通量降低 55%，水通量仅略微降低，并且具有最佳的防污性能，其通量回收率比原始 TFC 膜高 58%。改性膜选择性的显着提高意味着水凝胶涂层可用于密封 PA 缺陷。PVA 水凝胶涂层中的杀生物 GO 薄片还提高了改性膜的抗生物污染性，这可归因于它们的形态和优异的表面性能。改性膜选择性的显着提高意味着水凝胶涂层可用于密封 PA 缺陷。PVA 水凝胶涂层中的杀生物 GO 薄片还提高了改性膜的抗生物污染性，这可归因于它们的形态和优异的表面性能。改性膜选择性的显着提高意味着水凝胶涂层可用于密封 PA 缺陷。PVA 水凝胶涂层中的杀生物 GO 薄片还提高了改性膜的抗生物污染性，这可归因于它们的形态和优异的表面性能。