New Research Article by Oliveira et al. 2021

Membranes modified with nanocomposites are a new strategy for improving the performance of membrane separation processes. The addition of nanocomposites to membranes changes their characteristics, such as porosity, hydrophilicity, and roughness. Besides, the modification can confer unique properties, such as photocatalytic activity, which enables the abiotic removal of organic compounds from effluents, such as contaminants of emerging concern. TiO₂-Graphene oxide nanocomposites are highly promising in membrane modifications because they can increase the hydrophilicity of polymeric membranes, induce antimicrobial activity, and promote the degradation of the feed compounds, while also reducing their fouling potential. In this review, different methods of obtaining polymeric membranes modified with TiO₂-Graphene oxide nanocomposites are summarized and evaluated. The impact of the nanocomposite fillers loading on the membrane efficiency, the different polymeric materials of the membranes used, the fouling reduction mechanisms and the applications of the modified membranes are addressed. Some challenges and research gaps in the area are highlighted, such as the membrane stability verification over a long period of operation and the treatment of complex matrices by the modified membranes.