Fabrication of niobium MXene-polyphenylsulfone membranes: Advancement in humic acid and dye separation from wastewater

Abstract

Around the globe there is a great urge for the supply of water which is free from pollutants for the intensely growing population. In this work, a two-dimensional metal carbide namely niobium MXene possessing attractive properties is utilized first time for the fabrication of mixed matrix polyphenyl sulfone ultrafiltration membranes. Niobium MXene nanosheets are well synthesized by etching aluminium layer from its precursor. Incorporation of hydrophilic niobium MXene particles in to the polyphenyl sulfone membranes tremendously escalated its pure water permeability from 93.4 L m?2 h?1 to 256.01 L m?2 h?1 when compared to neat polyphenyl sulfone membrane. Niobium MXene embedded membranes displayed appreciable improvement in antifouling properties, water uptake capacity, and hydrophilicity with decrement in water contact angle from 82.8° to 65.4°. The optimal niobium MXene incorporated membrane showed 98.84 % rejection of humic acid. It also exhibited 97.2 % and 85.6 % removal of hazardous dye molecules, namely reactive black 5 and reactive orange 16, respectively. This work brings forth a new niobium MXene embedded ultrafiltration mixed matrix membrane for the productive removal of dyes and humic acid from wastewater. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd