Nanofiltration membranes of poly(styrene-co-chloro-methylstyrene)-grafted-DGEBA reinforced with gold and polystyrene nanoparticles for water purification

Abstract

The matrix material for nanofiltration membranes was prepared through chemical grafting of poly(styrene-co-chloromethylstyrene) (PSCMS) to DGEBA using hexamethylenediamine as linker. The phase inversion technique was used to form PSCMS-g-DGEBA membranes. This effort also involves the designing of gold nanoparticles and its composite nanoparticles with polystyrene microspheres as matrix reinforcement. The nanoporous morphology was observed at lower filler content and there was formation of nanopattern at increased nanofiller content. The tensile strength was improved from 32.5 to 35.2 MPa with the increase in AuNPs-PSNPs loading from 0.1 to 1 wt%. The glass transition temperature was also enhanced from 132 to 159 °C. The membrane properties were measured via nanofiltration set-up. Higher pure water permeation flux, recovery, and salt rejection were measured for novel membranes. PSCMS-g-DGEBA/AuNPs-PSNPs membrane with 1 wt% loading showed flux of 2.01 mL cm−2 min−1 and salt rejection ratio of 70.4 %. Efficiency of the gold/polystyrene nanoparticles reinforced membranes for the removal of Hg2+ and Pb2 was found to be 99 %. Novel hybrid membranes possess fine characteristics to be utilized in industrial water treatment units.