Novel Reverse Osmosis Membrane Incorporated Functionalized Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes by Interfacial Polymerization

摘要

Nowadays, nanotechnology has produced entirely new classes of functional materials whose application to desalination and water purification. For example, recent reports on filtration and desalination membranes fabricated from carbon nanotubes [1-3] and zeolite films [4] acquired exciting new progress. Mixed matrix or nanocomposite membranes may exhibit improved mechanical, chemical, and thermal stability as well as improved separation, reaction, and sorption capacity [5]. Mixed matrix membranes developed for gas separation, pervaporation, ion-exchange, and fuel cell applications employ zeolite or carbon molecular sieve particles disperse within relatively thick membrane films. More recently, Jeong et al [6] doubled the water flux of reverse osmosis composite membranes without affecting the salt rejection using zeolite nanoparticles in preparing mixed matrix membranes. In view of advantages these nano-particles having, a new idea of incorporating carbon nanotubes into the separation layers of composite membrane prepared by IP occurred to us.