Nitrogenated Graphene Oxide-Decorated Metal Sulfides for Better Antifouling and Dye Removal

Nitrogenated graphene oxide-decorated copper sulfide nanocomposites (CuxS-NrGO, where x = 1 and 2) are designed to be incorporated in polysulfone (PSF) membranes for effective fouling resistance of PSF membranes and their dye removal capacity. The developed membranes possess more hydrophilicity and an enhancement in pure water flux (PWF). Also, the highest bovine serum albumin (BSA) rejection of 89% was observed when compared to membranes with pristine PSF (5 L/m(2) h PWF and 88% BSA rejection) and CuS-incorporated PSF membranes (14 L/m(2) h PWF and 83% BSA rejection) because of N doping and enhanced permeability. It is also found that the CuxS-NrGO-incorporated PSF membranes exhibited a significantly higher fouling resistance, a larger permeate flux recovery ratio (FRR) of nearly 82%, and a congo red dye rejection of 93%. CuxS-NrGO nanoparticles thus demonstrate the potential efficacy of enhancing the hydrophilicity, leading to a better flux, dye removal capacity, and antifouling capacity with a very high FRR value of 82% because of a strong interaction between the N-active sites of the NrGO, CuxS, and polysulfone matrix, and negligible leaching of nanoparticles is observed.