The potential of blended loose nanofiltration membranes
(LNMs)
to fractionate dyes and inorganic salts in textile wastewater has
become a focus of attention in recent years. In this research work,
we fabricated LNMs based on polysulfone (PSf) membranes blended with l-histidine amino acid-functionalized Mo2Ga2C MAX phase (His-MAX). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic
force microscopy (AFM), attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform
infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), contact angle, ζ-potential,
porosity, and pore size analyses were employed to characterize the
LNMs. Blending 0.75 wt % of His-MAX additive with the PSf tailored
the LNM’s features by making it more water-friendly, increasing
its porosity, enlarging its pores, and making its surface smoother.
The pure water flux of 127.6 L/m2 h was achieved by LNM
containing 0.75 wt % His-MAX, which was 2.5 times greater than the
bare one. The mentioned LNM displayed a flux recovery ratio (FRR)
of 68.27 and 98.57, 98.31, and 99.7% rejections for Direct red 23,
Acid brown 75, and Reactive blue 21 solutions (100 mg/L), respectively.
The 0.75 wt % His-MAX LNM could reject 99.1% of dye and 11.5% of salt
while maintaining an FRR of 91.19% after four cycles of filtering
a binary mixture solution containing Reactive blue 21 and Na2SO4. These findings highlight the potential of the fabricated
LNM for desalinating dye solutions.