Ultrathin Graphene Nanofiltration Membrane for Water Purification

Abstract A method of fabricating ultrathin (≈22–53 nm thick) graphene nanofiltration membranes (uGNMs) on microporous substrates is presented for efficient water purification using chemically converted graphene (CCG). The prepared uGNMs show well packed layer structure formed by CCG sheets, as characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The performance of the uGNMs for water treatment was evaluated on a dead end filtration device and the pure water flux of uGNMs was high (21.8 L m −2 h −1 bar −1 ). The uGNMs show high retention (>99%) for organic dyes and moderate retention (≈20–60%) for ion salts. The rejection mechanism of this kind of…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China