The effects of confinement of multilayer graphene platelets in hydrophobic microporous polymeric membranes are here examined. Intermolecular interactions between water vapour molecules and nanocomposite membranes are envisaged to originate assisted transport of water vapour in membrane distillation processes when a suitable filler-polymer ratio is reached. Mass transport coefficients are estimated under different working conditions,...

Seawater desalination is a worldwide concern for the sustainable production of drinking water. In this regard, membrane distillation (MD) has shown the potential for effective brine treatment. However, the lack of appropriate MD membranes limits its industrial expansion since they experience fouling and wetting issues. Therefore, hydrophobic membranes are promising candidates to successfully deal with such phenomena that are typical...

We introduce highly antifouling Polymer-Nanoparticle-Nanoparticle/Polymer (PNNP) hybrid membranes as multi-functional materials for versatile purification of wastewater. Nitrogen-rich polyethylenimine (PEI)-functionalized halloysite nanotube (HNT-SiO2-PEI) nanoparticles were developed and embedded in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membranes for protein and dye filtration. Bulk and surface characteristics of the resulting HNT-SiO2-PEI...