Polyethyleneimine (PEI) grafted silica nanoparticles for polyethersulfone membranes modification and their outlooks for wastewater treatment - a review

ABSTRACT

Polyethersulfone (PES) membranes modification with inorganic nanoparticles and/or organic polymeric additives is an endless area of research. PES is one of the widely commercialised membrane substances owing to its flexibility in terms of proper environmental tolerance, reasonable mechanical, thermal, and chemical stability, solubility in most polar solvents, and applicability to produce a wide range of pore size. PES membranes blending with PEI and inorganic nanoparticles, such as SiO₂, are getting a wealth research activity at the present time. However, type and amount of these additives control the final nanocomposite wettability, permeability, selectivity, recoverability and stability over time. In this article, we display a short summary of the progressive interest in the application of various organic-inorganic structures harnessed to modify PES membrane, particularly, modification through PEI and SiO₂ NPs. The review will also feature discussion regarding the reinforcement of incorporated inorganic NPs into polymeric PES membrane.

KEYWORDS:

• Membranes modification
• inorganic nanoparticles
• organic polymeric additives
• wastewater treatment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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