Renewed physiognomies of titanium nanotubes for implementation in the polysulfone membrane matrix for desalination

An innovative modification approach is attempted to fine-tune the physiognomies of titanium nanotubes (TNT) for amalgamation in the polysulfone (PSf) membrane matrix, which is employed in the salt rejection studies. The novel modified titanium nanotubes (m-TNT) are integrated in the PSf nanocomposite membranes by the phase inversion process. The synthesized m-TNTs and the nanotube composite membranes are analyzed with a range of characterization techniques and are studied for divalent and monovalent salt rejection studies. The results revealed that the m-TNT as a nanofiller in the membranes decreased contact angle, increased surface charge and hydrophilicity thereby improving the membrane perviousness. The m-TNT/PSf nanotube composite membrane with 2 wt% composition of nanotubes (M2) exhibits a flux of 12.17 LMH and salt rejection efficiency of 76.6 % for MgCl2, 59.9 % for Na2SO4 and 48.6 % for NaCl. The membranes also display superior antifouling behavior with 93.5 % flux recovery ratio and a very meagre 15.9 % of total fouling for the M2 membrane. The fabricated membranes exhibit a good rejection efficiency for the NaCl salt solution, provide appreciable productivity and display enhanced antifouling susceptibility thereby proving to be a prominent material in membrane desalination applications.