Polyamide nanofiltration membrane with MoS2 interlayer on tubular ceramic substrate for desalination

The tubular ceramic substrate has great potential in membrane separation because of its excellent solvent and temperature resistance, pressure stability, and long service life. However, it is still a challenge to prepare an ultrathin intact selective layer by interfacial polymerization (IP) on a porous tubular ceramic substrate, due to its large pore size and defects on the surface. In this study, a molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) interlayer with a loose structure was formed on the tubular ceramic substrate via hydrothermal, which provided a large surface area and fast transport channels. Subsequently, a polyamide (PA) skin layer was formed on the MoS2 interlayer through the IP procedure to obtain a composite membrane for desalination. The prepared PA/MoS2/ceramic composite membrane showed excellent water permeance of 17.7 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1 with a 96.8 % rejection of Na2SO4. Moreover, the prepared membranes showed good pressure resistance and long-term stability under cross-flow filtration within 30 days.