Tuning the interlayer spacing of graphene oxide membrane via surfactant intercalation for ultrafast nanofiltration

Rajakumari Krishnamoorthi, Fraz Saeed Butt, Nurul A. Mazlan, Siyu Chen, Norbert Radacsi, Shuiqing Yang, Yeomin Yoon, Yi Huang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A facile method has been developed to fabricate lamellar composite graphene oxide (CGO) membranes by incorporating positively charged surfactants – cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The interlayer spacing of GO nanosheets was regulated by the sum of both vertical and horizontal alignment of CTAB on the GO surface via electrostatic interaction. The CTAB intercalated GO membrane exhibited an internal layer spacing of 16.97 Å compared to 8.26 Å for the GO membrane. The obtained CGO lamellar membrane with well-defined nanochannels showed ultrafast pure water flux of ∼1112 L h−1 m−2 bar−1 and an excellent separation efficiency of >99 % towards negatively charged organic dye molecules at a high permeation flux of ∼932 L h−1 m−2 bar−1, which was nearly 2.5-fold enhancement compared with that of the pristine GO membrane (∼400 L h−1 m−2 bar−1). The electrostatic and π–π interaction forces between the CGO membrane and organic dye molecules played a major role in the overall dye separation mechanism. Furthermore, the CGO membrane demonstrated excellent stability with no loss in separation performance (>96 % organic molecules rejection) after exposure to various pH solutions and deionized water (DI) water. The current work provides a straightforward approach for the formation of highly tunable and stable CTAB-intercalated GO membranes for ultrafast molecular separation.

Original languageEnglish
Article number122942
JournalJournal of Membrane Science
Volume706
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors

Keywords

  • Dye separation
  • Graphene oxide
  • Intercalation
  • Lamellar membrane
  • Surfactant

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