Electrospun Polycarbonate-Thermoplastic Polyurethane Nanocomposite Membranes Incorporating Copper Oxide Nanoparticles for Efficient Water Treatment: Anti-fouling Performance Against Organic Pollutant

IF 2.3 4区工程技术 Q1 MATERIALS SCIENCE, TEXTILES

Fibers and Polymers Pub Date : 2025-07-10 DOI:10.1007/s12221-025-01073-1

Javad Yekrang, Habib Etemadi, Seyed Mehdi Sajjadi

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Abstract

Electrospun nanocomposite membranes (ENCMs) offer promising advancements for water microfiltration (MF) applications. In this study, polycarbonate/thermoplastic polyurethane (PC/TPU) nanocomposite membranes were electrospun and incorporated with 1, 3, and 5 wt.% copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs). The resulting membranes were evaluated in terms of their morphological features, chemical composition, hydrophilicity, tensile strength, water flux performance, and anti-fouling capabilities. Morphological analysis revealed that the average diameter of the electrospun nanofibers ranged between 67 and 90 nm. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) indicated a tendency for CuO NPs migration and agglomeration at the highest loading of 5 wt.%. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the presence of all characteristic functional groups from the constituent materials in the final nanocomposite membranes. Water contact angle (WCA) measurements demonstrated a significant improvement in membrane hydrophilicity with CuO NP incorporation. Specifically, WCA decreased from 114° for the neat membrane to 63° when the CuO NP content was increased to 3 wt.%. Water flux experiments were carried out using a submerged filtration module with humic acid (HA) as a model organic pollutant. The membrane containing 3 wt.% CuO NPs exhibited a pure water flux of 907 L.m⁻².h⁻¹ and a HA solution flux of 446 L.m⁻².h⁻¹. Furthermore, NFM-Cu3 displayed superior anti-fouling performance with an irreversible fouling ratio (IFR) of only 5.8% and high HA rejection efficiency of about 99%. These findings suggest that ENCMs containing CuO NPs has the potential to serve as an effective alternative to conventional thin-film polymer membranes in water filtration systems, offering improved permeability, selectivity, and fouling resistance.

Graphical abstract

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含有氧化铜纳米粒子的电纺聚碳酸酯-热塑性聚氨酯纳米复合膜用于高效水处理：对有机污染物的防污性能

电纺丝纳米复合膜（encm）在水微过滤（MF）应用中具有广阔的应用前景。在这项研究中，聚碳酸酯/热塑性聚氨酯（PC/TPU）纳米复合膜被静电纺丝并加入1、3和5 wt.%的氧化铜纳米粒子（CuO NPs）。从形态特征、化学成分、亲水性、拉伸强度、水通量性能和抗污染能力等方面对所得膜进行了评价。形态学分析表明，静电纺纳米纤维的平均直径在67 ~ 90 nm之间。能量色散x射线能谱（EDS）表明，在最高负载为5 wt.%时，CuO NPs有迁移和团聚的趋势。傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）证实了最终纳米复合膜中存在来自组成材料的所有特征官能团。水接触角（WCA）测量结果表明，加入CuO NP后，膜亲水性有了显著改善。当CuO NP含量增加到3 wt.%时，净膜的WCA从114°下降到63°。以腐植酸（HA）为模型有机污染物，采用浸没式过滤模块进行了水通量实验。含有3 wt.% CuO NPs的膜纯水通量为907 L.m−2.h−1，HA溶液通量为446 L.m−2.h−1。此外，NFM-Cu3表现出优异的抗污性能，不可逆结垢率（IFR）仅为5.8%，HA截留效率高达99%左右。这些发现表明，含有CuO NPs的encm有潜力作为传统薄膜聚合物膜在水过滤系统中的有效替代品，具有更好的渗透性、选择性和抗污性。图形抽象

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来源期刊

Fibers and Polymers 工程技术-材料科学：纺织

CiteScore

3.90

自引率

8.00%

发文量

267

审稿时长

3.9 months

期刊介绍： -Chemistry of Fiber Materials, Polymer Reactions and Synthesis- Physical Properties of Fibers, Polymer Blends and Composites- Fiber Spinning and Textile Processing, Polymer Physics, Morphology- Colorants and Dyeing, Polymer Analysis and Characterization- Chemical Aftertreatment of Textiles, Polymer Processing and Rheology- Textile and Apparel Science, Functional Polymers