Synthesis of cellulose/silica nanocomposite through electrostatic interaction to reinforce polysulfone membranes

Cellulose/nanosilica (CNS) nanocomposite fiber has been synthesized via a novel surface modification of cellulose and nanosilica, prepared from rice husk as a low cost natural source, by anionic and cationic surfactants through electrostatic interaction. The effect of the prepared nanocomposite on the structural, mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of polysulfone nanofiltration membranes was comprehensively studied. The scanning electron microscope image was used to investigate the relationship between solidity aspect and morphological properties qualitatively and quantitatively. From the results, the membrane with 0.25 wt% of CNS fiber shows the highest mechanical strength and thermal stability with a glass transition temperature of about 201 °C. It was found that an increase in the filler content increases the surface roughness of the membranes. The same behavior was observed for hydrophilicity based on contact angle measurements (from 78.7° to 61.5°). The adsorption of dye molecules during the filtration process was studied by batch adsorption experiments obeying Langmuir isotherm (R² > 0.91). For all samples of fabricated membranes, the rejection of Crystal Violet dye from aqueous solution was higher than 80%.