Abstract
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•Highly efficient amine-graphene embedded membranes were prepared.•The membranes were characterized for structural and morphology using various tools.•Membranes show high hydrocarbons, metal ions and salts separation.
Water pollution endangers water sustainability; it limits the quantity of water available for consumption. Therefore, poor quality of water resources warrants significant ecological and public health concerns. Hence, there is a need for efficient materials and methods for water treatment. In this work, efficient membranes were synthesized by integrating amine-modified graphene in polyamide of m-phenylenediamine and trimesoyl chloride. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and atomic force microscope (AFM) analyses were used for the characterization of the morphology, and surface characteristics and structure, of the prepared membranes. Filtration experiments were performed to examine the permeability and separation capacity of the membrane against organic contaminants, heavy metals, and salts. The obtained results displayed that permeability of salts and metal ions and separation of oil were considerably improved by integrating the membranes with amine-modified graphene. The synthesized membranes displayed hydrocarbon separation efficiency of ≈ 100%, total metal ions rejection of up to 96%, and average salt rejection of around 80%. The proposed membranes are very promising for real-world applications because of their outstanding stability, high flux, rejection of salt, and rejection of oil.