A facile graphene oxide modified approach towards membrane with prominent improved permeability and antifouling performance

The superior hydrophilicity of graphene oxide (GO) makes it a promising candidate for improving the permeability and antifouling performance of membranes used for feed water pretreatment in desalination systems . However, the uncontrollable assembly structures of GO laminates on membrane surface restrict the full exertion of its hydrophilicity. In this study, a layer-by-layer self-assembled GO-based nanocomposite membrane with adjustable interlayer spacing and assembly layers was facilely fabricated by alternately depositing GO and (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxyilane modified silicon dioxide (SiO 2 @APTES) on membrane surface via electrostatic interaction. The fully exerted hydrophilicity of GO and well-maintained membrane pore structures facilitated the adsorption and penetration of water molecules, meanwhile, the hydration layer and electronegativity of GO effectively inhibited the adhesion of foulant. Thus, monolayer GO/SiO 2 @APTES/GO endowed P-(G/S/G) 1 membrane with more than 10-fold water flux (560.2 L m −2  h −1 ) than pure PVDF membrane (55.4 L m −2  h −1 ) without sacrificing selectivity ; and the antifouling performance was improved by nearly 50%. Moreover, the nanocomposite membrane presented robust structural stability after physicochemical cleaning. Overall, the nanocomposite membrane affords a novel facile way to fully exert the hydrophilicity of GO to improve permeability and antifouling performance, and is expected to provide an important guarantee for efficient operation of desalination system.