Incorporation of 2D-biotene to polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membrane with superhydrophilicity and antifouling properties for removal of organic pollutants

Here, for the first time, one or few-layer exfoliated 2D-Biotene (E-BIT) was prepared by a cost-effective liquid-phase exfoliation of economical and accessible bulk biotite (B-BIT). The successful preparation of E-BIT was further verified by different characterization methods. XRD pattern demonstrated that B-BIT's basal spacing was increased from 10.07 Å to 11.02 Å. Also, the transparency of the E-BIT to the electron beam showed its small thickness after exfoliation, which was confirmed by AFM results, too. This natural material was utilized as an efficient nano-additive to improve the properties of polyethersulfone (PES) polymeric membrane. E-BIT blended membranes with various quantities (0–2 wt%) were prepared via the non-solvent induced phase inversion method. Small holes at the up layer, coarse finger-like holes and macro-voids at the sublayer were seen in asymmetric prepared membranes. Modification caused the improvement of the membranes' hydrophilicity, which the contact angle was reduced from 69.3 to 53.4 for bare PES and 1 wt% E-BIT blended membranes, respectively. 1 wt% E-BIT blended membrane illustrated flux enhancement of 198.8 L/m² h, and high elimination efficiency of bovine serum albumin (99%), reactive red 195 (97.8%), reactive green 9 (93.5%), and reactive blue 19 (88.4%), with improved flux recovery ratio of 73%.