Two-dimensional (2D) material-based membranes are promising candidates for applications in water and wastewater treatment. Most of the previous studies adjust the membrane selectivity by tuning the interlayer spacing, which can be challenging since it is difficult to precisely control the interlayer spacing at the nanometer/sub-nanometer level. In the current study, we enhance the selectivity of 2D MXene membrane by coating a tannic acid (TA)-metal complex layer on the surface of the membrane. The coating layer has a low resistance to water permeance. After the addition of the coating layer, the membrane water permeability is 250-300 L/m<sup>2</sup>h bar, which is still about 10 times the value of conventional nanofiltration membranes. The TA-metal complex modified MXene membranes have low retention towards salt ions; however, they have much-enhanced rejection of the various contaminants. For example, the NaCl rejection of MXene-Fe is 3.7%; however, the membrane rejection of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and Rhodamine B is 66.0% and 87.5%, respectively. Our analysis shows that the enhanced rejection performance of the modified membranes is due to the minimized mean pore size and increased surface hydrophilicity. The modified membranes are suitable for wastewater reuse and drinking water treatment, and this study proposes a new and facile strategy for adjusting the selectivity of 2D material-based membranes.

Tannic acid-metal complex modified MXene membrane for water purification

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.