LAYER-BY-LAYER ASSEMBLY OF GRAPHENE OXIDE MEMBRANES VIA ELECTROSTATIC INTERACTION AND ELUDICATION OF WATER AND SOLUTE TRANSPORT MECHANISMS
A method for synthesizing a water purification membrane is presented. The method includes stacking a plurality of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets to create the water purification membrane, the stacking involving layer-by-layer assembly of the plurality of GO nanosheets and forming a plurality of nanochannels between the plurality of GO nanosheets for allowing the flow of a fluid and for rejecting the flow of contaminants. The method further includes cross-linking the plurality of GO nanosheets by 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyl trichloride on a polydopamine coated polysulfone support.
1 - 9 . (canceled)
10 . A water separation membrane comprising:
a support substrate; and
a graphene oxide membrane disposed on the support substrate, the graphene oxide membrane including a graphene oxide nanosheet bonded to an adjacent graphene oxide nanosheet.
11 . The water separation membrane of claim 10 , wherein the graphene oxide nanosheet is covalently coupled to the adjacent graphene oxide nanosheet via a cross-linker.
12 . The water separation membrane of claim 11 , wherein the cross-linker includes monomers and polymers.
13 . The water separation membrane of claim 10 , wherein the graphene oxide membrane comprises 5 to 25 layers of electrostatically bonded graphene oxide nanosheets.
14 . The water separation membrane of claim 13 , wherein a structure, a charge, and a functionality of the graphene oxide nanosheets are configured to be tuned using polyelectrolytes.
15 . The water separation membrane of claim 13 , further comprising cross-linking the graphene oxide nanosheets by 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyl trichloride on the support substrate.
16 . The water separation membrane of claim 10 , wherein the support substrate is a polydopamine coated polysulfone support substrate.
17 . The water separation membrane of claim 13 , wherein the graphene oxide nanosheets are negatively charged.
18 . The water separation membrane of claim 13 , further comprising a plurality of nanochannels between the graphene oxide nanosheets for allowing a flow of a fluid and for rejecting a flow of contaminants.
19 . The water separation membrane of claim 10 , wherein the graphene oxide membrane has a rejection rate of 93-95% of rhodamine-WT.
20 . The water separation membrane of claim 10 , wherein the graphene oxide membrane has a rejection rate of about 90% of Na 2 SO 4 , as measured with a 0.1 mM Na 2 SO 4 solution.
21 . The water separation membrane of claim 10 , wherein the support substrate comprises polysulfone.
22 . The water separation membrane of claim 10 , wherein the support substrate comprises polyacrylonitrile.
23 . The water separation membrane of claim 11 , wherein the cross-linker is a monomer.
24 . The water separation membrane of claim 23 , wherein the monomer is ethylenediamine.
25 . The water separation membrane of claim 11 , wherein the cross-linker is a polymer.
26 . A method for water separation comprising:
disposing a graphene oxide membrane on a support substrate, wherein the graphene oxide membrane includes a graphene oxide nanosheet; and
bonding the graphene oxide nanosheet to an adjacent graphene oxide nanosheet.
27 . The method of claim 26 , further comprising:
wherein bonding the graphene oxide nanosheet to the adjacent graphene oxide nanosheet comprises covalently coupling the graphene oxide nanosheet to the adjacent graphene oxide nanosheet via a cross-linker.
28 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the cross-linker includes monomers and polymers.
29 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the graphene oxide membrane comprises 5 to 25 layers of electrostatically bonded graphene oxide nanosheets.