Performance improvement of polyethersulfone membranes with Ti₃AlCN MAX phase in the treatment of organic and inorganic pollutants

In this work, the hydrophobic polyethersulfone (PES) membrane was modified by incorporating Ti₃AlCN MAX phase. Synthesis of Ti₃AlCN MAX phase was performed using the reactive sintering method. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed a 3D compressed layered morphology for the synthesized MAX phase. The Ti₃AlCN MAX phase was added to the casting solution, and the mixed-matrix membranes were fabricated by the non-solvent induced phase inversion method. The performance and antifouling features of bare and modified membranes were explored by pure water flux, flux recovery ratio (FRR), and fouling resistance parameters. Through the modification of membranes by introducing the Ti₃AlCN MAX phase, the enhancement of these features was observed, in which the membrane containing 1 wt% of MAX phase showed 17.7 L/m².h.bar of permeability and 98.6% for FRR. Also, the separation efficiency of all membranes was evaluated by rejecting organic and inorganic pollutants. The Ti₃AlCN MAX membranes could reject 96%, 95%, and 88% of reactive blue 50, Rose Bengal, and azithromycin antibiotics, respectively, as well as 98%, 80%, 86%, and 36% of Pb²⁺, As⁵⁺, Na₂SO_4, and NaCl, respectively. Finally, the outcomes indicated the Ti₃AlCN MAX phase was an excellent and efficient novel additive for modifying the PES membrane.