Polyamide reverse osmosis (RO) membrane is one of the most successfully commercialized membranes for desalination and water purification. Inorganic nano-particles have been introduced into polyamide thin layer to enhance the separation performance and operation stability of RO membrane. In this work, atomic molecular dynamics simulations and free energy computations were carried out to investigate water permeability of polyamide/graphene sheet (PA/GS) and polyamide/grapheme oxide (PA/GO) composites RO membranes. We compared the free energy barriers for water permeation across polymer bulk phase, polymer-particle interface and nano-channel between graphene (or graphene oxide) sheets. Crosslinked polyamide morphologies on nano-particle surfaces were also investigated. This fundamental study will rationalize PA/GS and PA/GO composites RO membrane design.

Water permeability of polyamide/graphene and polyamide/graphene oxide composites reverse osmosis membrane studied with atomistic simulations

248th National Meeting (2014)

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