Engineered uio-66-nh2 hybrid nanocomposites for antifouling ultrafiltration membranes with dual resistance to microplastics and protein fouling

The growing presence of microplastics (MPs) in water and their impact on ultrafiltration (UF) membranes during the early stages of wastewater treatment highlight the need for effective mitigation strategies. This study explores the innovative modification of UF membranes by incorporating various hybrid metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) nanoparticles, including UiO-66-NH 2 hybrids with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) (UiOM), chitosan (UiOC), and sulfobetaine zwitterions (UiOZ). These nanoparticles were synthesized and integrated into innovative UF membranes to compare their performance on MPs fouling effect in particular. The integration enhanced membrane hydrophilicity and altered surface roughness, creating a hydrophilic functional network that improved water permeability. Water flux increased significantly across all modified membranes compared to the control. The hydrophilicity and porosity of the membranes, along with the porosity of the nanoparticles, were key factors in enhancing water flux. UiOZ and UiOM membranes demonstrated the highest water flux due to their superior hydrophilicity and porosity. All modified membranes exhibited better antifouling characteristics compared to the control UF membrane. UiOM and UiOZ membranes followed similar flux decline trends, whereas UiOC membranes demonstrated the best overall performance. The UiOC membrane also achieved the highest flux recovery of 93%, significantly outperforming the control UF membrane, which had a recovery of 55%. Among all the tested membranes, UiOC exhibited the best overall antifouling performance, whereas UiOM demonstrated the highest water flux. This study highlights the potential of hybrid MOF-modified UF membranes for treating complex wastewater containing microsized plastics, which are among the rapidly emerging pollutants in wastewater systems. • Hybrid MOF-modified membranes enhance water flux and antifouling performance. • UiOM membranes demonstrated highest water flux. • UiOC membranes show 93% flux recovery, outperforming the control membrane. • UiOM and UiOZ membranes exhibit similar fouling behaviour.