Facile Preparation of Polyamide–Graphene Oxide Composite Membranes for Upgrading Pervaporation Desalination Performances of Hypersaline Solutions

Abstract

Polyamide (PA)–graphene oxide (GO) composite membranes were fabricated to enhance pervaporation desalination for hypersaline solutions. Thin- and stripe-structured PA layers were formed on a base GO membrane via interfacial polymerization, which enhanced the hydrophilicity of the membrane surface and provided more active sites for enrichment and permeation of water molecules. The water flux through prepared membranes could reach up to 26.7 kg m–2 h–1 with 99.99% salt rejection for 3.5 wt % NaCl aqueous solution under 70 °C. When the feed salt concentration was increased to 10 wt %, the water flux could keep a high level (ca. 24.0 kg m–2 h–1) with an ideal ion rejection (99.99%). Moreover, satisfactory performance could be preserved in a long-term test for the prepared PA–GO composite membrane. All of the results demonstrate that PA–GO composite membranes prepared in this study have great application prospects in practical pervaporation desalination of hypersaline seawater or aqueous solutions.