Syarifah Nazirah Wan Ikhsan, Norhaniza Yusof, Farhana Aziz, Nurasyikin Misdan, Ahmad Fauzi Ismail, Woei-Jye Lau, Juhana Jaafar, Wan Norharyati Wan Salleh, Nur Hanis Hayati Hairom
In this work, self-synthesized halloysite nanotube-hydrous ferric dioxide (HNT-HFO) nanocomposites prepared via chemical precipitation method were incorporated in polyethersulfone (PES) to fabricate novel ultrafiltration (UF) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for oil-water separation process. Prior to filtration experiments, the morphologies and physicochemical properties of prepared HNT-HFO nanocomposites and MMMs were characterized using scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive X-ray, transmission electron microscope, Fourier-transform Infrared spectroscope, atomic force microscope and contact angle goniometer. It was found that the membrane contact angle decreased remarkably from 81.39° to about 50.30° upon addition of 23.08 wt% of HNT-HFO nanocomposite (2.0 loading ratio) in the PES matrix. The improved surface hydrophilicity resulted in the flux enhancement in the MMM …
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1383586617331830