Layer-Controlled Synthesis of a Silanol-Graphene Oxide Nanosheet Composite Forward Osmosis Membrane by Surface Self-Assembly.

More and more two-dimensional materials, such as graphene, are used in water separation membrane synthesis. Among the main influencing factors, surface properties and the interface structure of multilayers are the two crucial factors to the membrane separation performance. In the present paper, a silanol ((SiO3)x) and graphene oxide nanosheet composite (GO-(SiO3)x) was used to synthesize a skin like forward osmosis (FO) membrane for desalination by a surface layer-by-layer self-assembly method. We tested the separation performance of the FO membranes using DI water and 1.5 M NaCl aqueous solutions as feed and draw solutions, respectively. The results show that the molecular size and particle morphology of (SiO3)x grafted onto GO nanosheets play main roles in the water flux of the composite membrane. Based on this property and the self-assembly method, we can control the number of composite layers and the space between the GO nanosheets. Simultaneously, we have introduced a new concept: dilutive "skin layer concentration polarization (SLCP)" and the concentrative external concentration polarization (ECP) effect at the membrane surface are considered. The FO membrane synthesized in the current study exhibits a high level of water flux (above 30 L·m-2·h-1), and the salt retention capacity of the membranes increases as the number of composite layers increases. Thus, in this article, we find a way to create suitable water channels for separation of salt/water in a FO process by controlling the GO-(SiO3)x content and size.