Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite Membranes for High Flux Water Desalination

Among various desalination methods, reverse osmosis (RO) technology attracts great interest and has been widely applied due to its lower energy consumption. Further increasing water flux while maintaining high salt rejection would further reduce RO energy consumption.  Therefore, developing novel methods to increase water flux through desalination membranes is one of the main research focuses. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) and modified GO were used as a novel additive to the thin film composite (TFC) membranes to significantly increase water flux. Permeability of TFC membrane was greatly enhanced by introducing modified-GO in interfacial polymerization reaction, resulting from the improved hydrophilicity and smoother surface.  The achieved water flux of the modified TFC membranes in the best condition was around three times higher than that of the pristine TFC membrane with negligible influence on salt rejection. GO modified TFC membranes are expected to have great potential for high flux water desalination.