High performance composite hollow fiber nanofiltration membrane fabricated via the synergistic effect of co-solvent assisted interfacial polymerization and macrocyclic polyamine incorporation

The necessity for high-performance thin film composite (TFC) nanofiltration (NF) membranes for drinking water and wastewater treatment is becoming increasingly apparent in the face of the global water crisis. In this work, co-solvent (acetone) assisted interfacial polymerization (CAIP) and incorporating macrocyclic polyamine (Cyclen) as an aqueous co-monomer were employed to fabricate hollow fiber (HF) NF membrane and to enhance the permeability and the selectivity, respectively, thereby overcoming the inherent trade-off effect. The effects of Cyclen and acetone on the separation performance were comprehensively investigated, and the interfacial polymerization conditions were optimized. The optimal HF NF membrane exhibits a 68.6 % increment in water permeance relative to the baseline membrane while without sacrificing the Na₂SO₄ rejection which is as high as 99.2 %. In particular, it exhibits a superior high pure water permeability of 222.5 L m⁻² h⁻¹ MPa⁻¹, ranking among the highest observed for HF NF membranes in the existing literature. Moreover, it exhibits excellent acid resistance as well as fouling resistance. This research paves a novel approach for developing high-performance HF NF membranes for water and wastewater treatment.