Novel 4-amino-3,5-dimercapto-1,2,4-triazole-based polyether alloyed with cellulose acetate: synthesis and use as membrane in removal of pollutants from wastewater

A novel polyether (AMPE), synthesized from 4-amino-3,5-dimercapto-1,2,4-triazole and bis(chloroethyl)ether, was developed via a simple and scalable method for advanced membrane applications. AMPE features a high density of nitrogen-, sulfur-, and oxygen-rich atoms, endowing it with enhanced hydrophilicity and compatibility with cellulose acetate (CA) polymer matrix. These properties make it an ideal additive for fabricating high-performance water-treatment membranes. To leverage these advantages, AMPE was blended at 1, 2, 3, and 5 wt% with a base formulation 15 wt% CA, 1 wt% polyethylene glycol 1000, and N,N-dimethylformamide. Membranes were fabricated using the non-solvent induced phase inversion method. The AMPE-modified membranes exhibited exceptional performance: water permeability surged to 63.0 L/m²h (5 wt% AMPE) versus 10.2 L/m²h for the unmodified membrane. The optimum membrane showed 99.5%, 84% and 61.9% (vs. 96.9%, 83.5 and 65.3 for unmodified membrane) rejections for bovine serum albumin protein, reactive blue 3R dye, and bisphenol A pollutant, respectively. Protein solution flux (BSA) reached 36.5 L/m²h versus 5.8 L/m²h; The blended membranes presented significant antifouling properties with a flux recovery ratio of 42.1% for the 5 wt% blended membrane.