Fabrication of aluminum metal-organic framework and poly-ether sulfone composite ultrafiltration membrane for enhanced permeability and antifouling properties

• Composite membrane boosts pure water permeability by 117.8% • Excellent fouling resistance and over 85% flux recovery rate. • Ability to reject multiple heavy metals and dyes effectively in cross-flow mode. • Enhanced hydrophilicity and membrane surface charge attributed to better performance. • Minimal MOF 303-leaching even in harsh acidic/ basic conditions. The trade-off between selectivity, permeability, and high fouling rates often hinders the application of ultrafiltration membranes in the water and wastewater treatment industry. In the present work, we sought to address these challenges by incorporating metal–organic framework (MOF) 303 into polyether sulfone (PES) ultrafiltration membranes. We fabricated composite PES-MOF 303 membranes with varying concentrations of MOF 303 (0.25–1.0 wt%) using phase inversion. The optimum performing membranes—PES 12.5- M 0.5 , PES 15- M 0.5 , and PES 17.5- M 0.75 —showed substantial improvements in pure water flux, increasing by 36.13 % (455.62 ± 4.16 LMH), 37.83 % (301.1 ± 35.48 LMH), and 117.8 % (162.96 ± 6.82 LMH), respectively, compared to unmodified membranes. BSA protein rejection also improved by 20.76 % (59.75 ± 5.97 %) and 16.23 % (89.45 ± 2.17 %), with PES 17.5- M 0.75 maintaining a rejection rate of 94.24 %. The PES 17.5- M 0.75 membrane exhibited a remarkable 200 % reduction in protein adsorption and achieved over 85 % flux recovery, demonstrating excellent fouling resistance. These enhancements were attributed to the increased surface roughness, hydrophilicity, and negative surface charge resulting from MOF 303 integration. Moreover, the membranes showed exceptional stability with minimal MOF 303 leaching even in harsh, acidic, basic environments. They efficiently filtered out a variety of contaminants like arsenate, chromate, fluoride, Congo red, and methyl orange from water. These are first-time promising findings of PES-MOF 303 composite membranes, offering valuable insights into enhancing permeability, fouling resistance, and contaminant removal for advanced water and wastewater treatment.