Preparation and Evaluation of iPP/GO Microfiltration Membrane with Enhanced Antifouling Property

Isotactic polypropylene(iPP) and graphene oxide(GO), dispersed in dibutyl phthalate(DBP) and dioctyl phthalate(DOP), were blended to prepare organic-inorganic-blended microfiltration membranes using thermally induced phase separation(TIPS). These membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), contact angle measurements, mechanical properties, permeation tests, and porosity measurements. The morphology studied by SEM shows larger pores of the GO-blended membranes when compared to those of unmodified iPP membranes. Composite iPP/GO membranes achieve better performance in terms of water fluxes and pure water fluxes recovery ratio due to the hydrophilic nature of GO when compared with the pure iPP membranes. The addition of GO increases the permeability and the tensile strength by 352.98% and 123%, respectively, and also decreases the contact angle from 125° to 52.33°. We concluded that the composite membrane with 0.3% GO has the best antifouling ability of the membranes tested because it has the highest values of mean pore radius, porosity, and water flux observed in this study.