Ti3C2Tx MXene based membranes: A novel approach for wastewater treatment

Background

Fresh water around the world are facing rising levels of contamination from organic pollutants, largely driven by the release of various dyes from textile industries and the waste generated by the increasing use of pharmaceuticals. These pollutants pose a serious threat to the underground water and aquatic ecosystems.

Methods

Membrane-based technologies are emerging as promising solutions for efficient pollutant separation and purification to address the global issue of water pollution. In this study, we investigate the use of Ti₃C₂T_x membranes synthesized using HF etching technique and fabricated using a simple vacuum-assisted filtration technique. Three membranes having thicknesses ∼65 µm, 97 µm, and 155 µm were developed for the water filtration experiment.

Significant Findings

These membranes demonstrated high rejection rates (>95 %) and fluxes (>1000 Lm^-2h^-1) for 10 ppm solutions of Rhodamine B, Methyl Violet, and Levofloxacin maintaining its performance even at higher concentrations (upto 50 ppm). The membranes showed excellent stability over 10 cycles, along with strong anti-fouling properties. Additionally, they retained their performance under varying pH concentrations for each pollutant. This study highlights the potential of Ti₃C₂T_x-based membranes for diverse wastewater treatment applications, including industrial wastewater treatment, pharmaceutical industries, and life sciences sectors.