Tailored polymer nanocomposite membranes based on carbon, metal oxide and silicon nanomaterials: a review

Research into the structure, synthesis and properties of nanoscale materials has increased at an enormous pace over the past decades since they have a wide variety of applications ranging from adsorption to separation processes in water treatment. A wide range of technologies such as adsorption, electrochemical, membrane filtration, and ion-exchange methods are productively used in water treatment and nanoparticles also find application in each of these fields. Water pollution by various toxic contaminants such as proteins, humic acids, and oils and the shortage of pure water have become the most serious environmental issues encountered worldwide. Recently, nanomaterial-incorporated polymeric ultrafiltration membranes have been used effectively in water treatment technologies to address these environmental issues. Herein, we concisely review the performances of membranes incorporated with a variety of nanomaterials. This review summarizes some very recent results and contributions achieved with nanomaterials to date in the emerging field of ultrafiltration membrane technology research. Further, this review discusses the methods for the incorporation of diverse nanomaterials and their influence in altering membrane properties to improve performance. Special emphasis is given to the hydrophilicity, mechanical and thermal stability, and antifouling and antibacterial activity of nanomaterials.