(234l) Cellulose Acetate/TiO2-Au Nanocomposite Reverse Osmosis Membrane for Water Purification and Desalination

Water is an integral part of our society and it is of the utmost importance that this water is clean and safe for portable use. Membrane technologies are regarded as some of the most prevailing devices to mitigate water challenges around the world. Here, an electrospun cellulose acetate (CA)/TiO₂-Au nanocomposite reverse osmosis membrane was developed for desalination and purification of water to overcome some of the main hurdles of membrane technology, such as waste generation, fouling, and requiring pressure. CA is used as the electrospun nanofiber scaffold of the membrane, which shows a great NaCl rejection ability. Nanoporous TiO₂/Au particles are prepared via a soft-templating technique, and then loaded on the CA nanofibers, which can provide heavy metals, hardness, sulfates, chlorides, and bacteria removal from water.