Enhanced tetracycline removal using MOF-808 incorporated polysulfone nanofiltration mixed matrix membranes

• Hydrophilic MOF-808 was uniformly incorporated into the PSF matrix to fabricate advanced nanofiltration MMMs. • MOF-808 incorporation enhanced membrane porosity and hydrophilicity, significantly increasing water flux. • The optimized MMM-1 achieved 97% TC rejection while maintaining higher water flux than the pure PSF. • Antifouling properties were remarkably improved, with FRR reaching 98% due to enhanced hydrophilicity for MMM-1. • TC removal was driven by electrostatic interactions, π-π stacking, hydrogen bonding, and physical hindrance synergistic mechanisms. • The MMMs exhibited superior performance in simultaneous removal of TC and AMP mixtures, highlighting their potential for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment. Conventional nanofiltration (NF) membranes struggle to remove pharmaceutical contaminants from water due to the inherent trade-off between permeability and selectivity, as well as fouling tendency. To address these limitations, we developed mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) by embedding zirconium-based MOF-808 nanoparticles into a polysulfone (PSF) matrix via the phase inversion method, achieving enhanced tetracycline (TC) removal and water purification performance. Structural and morphological analyses, including XRD, ATR-FTIR, SEM, EDS, TEM, and AFM, along with tensile and contact angle measurements, demonstrated that MOF-808 nanoparticles were uniformly distributed between polymer chains. The results also showed notable improvements in membrane hydrophilicity, porosity, and mechanical properties. Increasing the MOF-808 content from 0 to 1.5 wt% raised pure water flux from 0.76 to 10.27 LMH. The optimized membrane containing 1 wt% MOF-808 (MMM-1) achieved 97% TC rejection at a flux of 2.10 LMH, effectively overcoming the conventional permeability-selectivity trade-off of pristine PSF membranes. Antifouling performance was substantially enhanced, with a flux recovery ratio (FRR) of 98% and bovine serum albumin (BSA) fouling resistance reduced to 10.69%, indicating a highly resilient and hydrophilic surface. In parallel, adsorption studies revealed a synergistic role of MOF-808, with TC uptake capacity increasing from 13 mgg -1 for pristine PSF to 42 mgg -1 for MMM-1, highlighting its dual function in pollutant adsorption and selective transport. Together, these results demonstrate that MOF-808-based MMMs not only exhibit excellent performance in removing pharmaceutical contaminants but also offer a sustainable and scalable solution for water and wastewater treatment.