High-Performance Boron Nitride-Based Membranes for Water Purification

Nanomaterials

Kim McKelvey¹  Adrián Sanz Arjona²  Natalia García Doménech²  Maeve Ward²  Marc Brunet Cabré²  Finn Purcell-Milton²  Yurii K. Gun’ko²  Aran Rafferty²  Peter Dunne²  Maria-Luisa Casasín García² 

[1] School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6012, New Zealand;School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin, D02 PN40 Dublin, Ireland;

关键词: nanofiltration;    membranes;    water purification;    sustainable;    separation technologies;    2D nanomaterials;   

DOI  :  10.3390/nano12030473

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

In recent years, nanotechnology-based approaches have resulted in the development of new alternative sustainable technologies for water purification. Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials are an emerging class of materials for nanofiltration membranes. In this work, we report the production, characterisation and testing of a promising nanofiltration membrane made from water-exfoliated boron nitride (BN) 2D nanosheets. The membranes have been tested for water purification and removal of typical water-soluble dyes such as methyl orange, methylene blue and Evans blue, with the water-exfoliated BN membranes achieving retention values close to 100%. In addition, we compared the performance of membranes made from water-exfoliated BN with those produced from BN using sonication-assisted liquid exfoliation in selected organic solvents such as 2-propanol and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. It was found that membranes from the water-exfoliated BN showed superior performance. We believe this research opens up a unique opportunity for the development of new high-performance environmentally friendly membranes for nanofiltration and new sustainable separation technologies.

【 授权许可】

Unknown