Cellulose Membrane Composited with ZIF-8 for Selective Separation of Rhodamine B

A composite membrane was prepared by in-situ synthesis of ZIF-8 on cellulose matrix in alkali/urea system. SEM revealed that ZIF-8 particles are uniformly dispersed and tightly wrapped around the regenerated cellulose membrane which features a three-dimensional porous structure. XRD, XPS and IR demonstrated the successful synthesis of ZIF-8 on cellulose. Dye filtration experiments revealed high rejection rate (96 %) and selectivity for rhodamine B. Moreover, the composite membrane exhibited good cycling behavior with the rejection rate staying over 84 % after five cycles. The finding in this work provides a strategy for the rational design and fabrication of composite materials of cellulose and MOFs with promising application for wastewater purification.