Enhanced Filtration Efficiency and Antifouling Characteristics of <scp>PEES</scp> /n‐ <scp> CeO ₂ </scp> Ultrafiltration Membranes for Water Treatment

ABSTRACT Water purification can be used to meet this increasing demand for clean and safe water. Other organic pollutants like dyes and proteins especially in industrial effluents have dire effects on the environment and health. Over the past years effluent treatment has been to a great extent reliant on the polymeric hybrid membrane which is an enabler that cannot be effectively utilized using conventional oxide additives, regarding issues of antifouling. In the current study, polyether ether sulfone (PEES) ultrafiltration membrane was prepared with nano cerium oxide (PEES/n‐CeO 2 ) using the phase inversion method for use in antifouling and dye removal applications. ATR‐FTIR, XRD, SEM, AFM, TGA, and contact angle measurements can be used to explain attractive water compatibility and nano composability. The optimized PEES/n‐CeO 2 membrane increases the flux of pure water and the FRR from 51.8 to 358.9 Lm −2 h −1 and from 69.2% to 84.4%. Low surface chemistry coupled with loss of hydrophilicity describes a high dye rejection percentage of 95.4%, 96.8%, and 98.9% for Congo Red, Rose Bengal, and Acid Black, respectively. The presented work emphasizes the use of n‐CeO 2 in increasing water permeability, which is very useful in terms of dye rejection and fouling resistance, making PEES/n‐CeO 2 membranes good candidates for industrial wastewater removal.