Tailoring Nanofiltration Membranes by Incorporating Zwitterionic Quaternary Ammonium Terpolymer to Enhance Performance
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Designing nanofiltration membranes with unique characteristics and properties is an emerging trend for water treatment research. Herein, we introduced the unique example of the aliphatic diethylenetriamine‐based nanofiltration membranes and tuned its selectivity by adding the terpolymer. To enhance the permeability of the salts while maintaining the rejection of the dye Eriochrome black T (EBT), a novel cationic/zwitterionic terpolymer of Diallyldimethylammonium chloride (DADMAC), 3‐(N,N‐diallyl‐N‐methylammonio)propanesulfonate (DAMAPS), and N,N‐diallyldodecane‐1,12‐diamine (DADA) was rationally synthesized and in situ grafted via interfacial polymerization (IP) in the polyamide active layer of the membrane. The incorporation of poly‐(DADMAC‐co‐DAMAPS‐co‐DADA) polymer into the diethylenetriamine polyamide active layer results in 5.8 times increase in water flux while still retaining an outstanding rejection rate of ~99.9 % for EBT. Furthermore, it exhibited enhanced salt permeability for NaCl, MgCl2, Na2SO4, and MgSO4. The grafted polymer increased the hydrophilicity of the membrane and strengthened stability for long‐term working conditions. Thus, the aliphatic diethylenetriamine membranes have great potential for desalination, and their active layer can be tuned with the zwitterionic moieties to enhance the salt permeability and keep the EBT rejection higher than 99 %, which makes these membranes valuable for environmental and textile applications.
Source: Chemistry - An Asian Journal
Authors: Zeeshan Arshad, Nadeem Baig, Shaikh A. Ali
Language: English
Subfield: Water Science and Technology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Award: G7891154234
OpenAlex ID: W4407057243