Enhanced antifouling performance of PVDF ultrafiltration membrane by blending zinc oxide with support of graphene oxide nanoparticle.

This paper reports a novel nanocomposite additive for a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane with high hydrophilicity through the association of graphene oxide (GO) and ZnO. The influence of the hydrophilicity of GO-ZnO on the PVDF membrane was examined on different GO-ZnO loadings. The porosity and wettability (or hydrophilicity) of the membrane were improved significantly by blending GO-ZnO nanocomposite. In addition, the water flux of the GO-ZnO/PVDF membrane was 48% higher than that of bare PVDF, and the anti-fouling properties of this modified membrane were also improved. The irreversible fouling ratio (Rir) of bovine serum albumin (BSA) was reduced substantially with increasing the loading of GO-ZnO nanocomposite. The lowest irreversible fouling ratio (7.21%) was obtained for the membrane containing 0.2 wt % GO-ZnO of the nanocomposite (M6). GO-ZnO modification PVDF membranes were assumed to reduce the affinity between membrane and BSA foulant, which improved the anti-fouling properties PVDF membrane. In the activated sludge flux test, the membrane containing GO-ZnO in the polymer matrix had a higher flux than that of the bare PVDF membrane. The effluent quality after the composite membrane (0.6 NTU) was stable, indicating that the composite membrane can be used for practical applications Overall, the properties of the PVDF membrane were improved after modification due to hydrogen bonding or the hydrophilicity of the GO-ZnO nanocomposite.