Effect of detonation nanodiamond on the properties and performance of polyethersulfone nanocomposite membrane

In this study, the nonsolvent induced phase inversion method was applied to prepare polyethersulfone/detonation nanodiamond (PES)/DND nanocomposite membranes for nanofiltration. Nanocomposite membranes containing different amounts of DND (0–1 wt%) were prepared and subjected to structural and separation characterizations. Structural properties of the membranes such as morphology, porosity, mean pore size, water content and water contact angle were investigated. Additionally, separation properties of the membranes were studied using water permeability, bovine serum albumin (BSA) filtration and dye solution rejection as a synthetic wastewater. Results revealed that presence of DND nanoparticles enhanced hydrophilicity and consequently water flux of the nanocomposite membranes compared to the unfilled membrane. The nanocomposite membranes with loading content of 0.5 wt% provide the highest dyes removal (C.I. Reactive Green 19 and C.I. Reactive Orange 29 with two different molecular weights) and also the highest water permeation, i.e., approximately twice of the unfilled membrane. Furthermore, the nanocomposite membranes showed promising antifouling properties during BSA and dyes filtrations.