Abstract
A series of hollow fiber (HF) membranes made from nanocomposites of polyethersulfone (PES) and graphene oxide (GO) at GO concentrations of 0.2%, 0.5%, and 1.0% were prepared by the dry–wet spinning process. The structure and the properties of as‐prepared HF membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM); atomic force microscopy (AFM); measurements of contact angle, zeta potential, molecular weight cut‐off (MWCO), and porosity; thermogravimetric analysis (TGA); and tensile testing. Long‐term filtration tests were performed with the proteins bovine serum albumin (BSA), pepsin, trypsin, and lysozyme, which are common model organic foulants used in membrane fouling studies. The results showed that HF membrane made from PES/GO nanocomposite dope had a water permeability of 30 ± 1.5 Lm−2 hr−1 bar−1, which is an increase of approximately 36% compared to that of a PES HF membrane. Among the membranes containing GO, the membrane with a 0.5 wt% GO loading exhibited the best antifouling performance, that is, this membrane recovered more than approximately 96% of its initial pure water flux, demonstrating a high resistance to the irreversible fouling. In addition, the same membrane showed an improvement in MWCO, an approximately 15% increase in porosity, along with optimum mechanical and thermal properties.