Fabrication of a novel hybrid poly(amide-co-arylate)/MOF thin film membranes for organic solvent nanofiltration: optimization of membrane separation performance

Introducing a high separation performance membrane is one of the most essential requirements of an efficient polymeric membrane-based technology. In this regard, we employed different weight ratio of cardo-structured 9,9-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)fluorene monomer (BHPF) to fabricate the novel polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based poly(amide- co -arylate) thin film composite membranes through interfacial polymerization for use in organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) field. In addition, the prepared poly(amide- co -arylate) thin films were filled with different content of porous metal organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles in order to attain high permeable polymeric membranes. Besides, the organically modified MOF nanoparticles and poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide-co-poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PMSA- co -PHEMA) copolymer nanoparticles containing zwitterionic groups were synthesized for further investigation. It was found that the designed poly(amide- co -arylate) thin film composite membrane fabricated by equal ratios of m -phenylenediamine (MPD) and BHPF monomers showed the highest tetrahydrofuran (THF) flux value compared with other thin film composite (TFC) membranes. Moreover, incorporating 0.003 wt% of MOF nanoparticles within this poly(amide- co -acrylate) thin film led to a good retention up to 90, 88 and 98% for bromophenol blue (BPB), acid blue 7 (ACB) and methyl green (MG) dyes, respectively. Furthermore, this thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane displayed an acceptable pure THF flux as high as 2 Lm-2h-1bar-1 at 10 bar. Also, evaluating long-term stability application of this TFN membranes demonstrated a slight reduction in THF flux, indicating that this membrane is highly efficient for use in the OSN field. • The novel hybrid PAN-based poly(amide- co -arylate)/MOF thin film membranes were fabricated. • The modified MOF nanoparticles and PMSA- co -PHEMA copolymer nanoparticles comprising zwitterionic groups were synthesized. • The TFN membrane containing 0.003 wt% MOF exhibited the pure THF flux around 2 Lm-2h-1bar-1. • The high rejection value around 90, 88 and 98% was observed for BPB, ACB and MG dyes, respectively.