Grafting Buffer Layer Strategy onto the Nanofiltration Membrane to Enhance Antifouling Properties toward Highly Efficient Desalination

Water treatment and seawater desalination are two areas in which nanofiltration (NF) membranes have gained significant attention. The permeability and contamination resistance of NF membranes are crucial for their application in ion separation. Herein, a zwitterion monomeric <i>N</i>-sulfobutylpiperazine (PIPBS) was designed and synthesized through an in situ ring-opening reaction between 1,4-butylsulfonic acid lactone and piperazine. A new hydrophilic structure is formed when PIPBS is chemically grafted with piperazine-trimesoyl chloride (PIP-TMC) onto the surface of the NF membrane, increasing the water flux and improving antifouling properties. NF performance was systematically investigated with respect to both the PIPBS concentration and reaction time. In addition to higher salt retention for NaSO₄ (97.3%) and MgSO₄ (94.1%), the optimized PTPM also displayed better ion selectivity for Na₂SO₄/NaCl. Sulfonic acid groups make membranes more hydrophilic, reducing contamination, deposition, and membrane pore plugging by direct contact with contaminants. In comparison to untreated NF membranes, due to the hydration of PIPBS on the membrane surface, the water flux increased by 2.3 times with a 13.6% grafting ratio for PTPM-1. Furthermore, PTPM had superior protein fouling resistance and an excellent ability to recover flux after contamination experiments and could withstand continuous filtration operations for 60 h with a stable flux of 10.98 L m^-2 h^-1 bar^-1. The as-prepared NF membrane's excellent water flux, selective rejection of salts, and outstanding fouling resistance make it ideal for efficient desalination, and it also provides novel insights into the design of antifouling membranes.