Preparation of highly selective polyether sulfone /polym-phenylenediamine membrane for recovery of Au(III) from aqueous solutions

A non-solvent-induced phase separation method was used to synthesize easily separable membrane materials from polyether sulfone and polym-phenylenediamine to achieve selective recovery of Au from e-waste solutions. The optimum conditions, adsorption capacity, and selectivity of the polyether sulfone/polym-phenylenediamine membrane were investigated by adsorption experiments. The maximum adsorption capacity of the PES/PmPD membrane to Au(III) within 4 h at 30 °C with optimal pH of 1 was 582.75 mg/g. The adsorption process follows the quasi-second-order adsorption isotherm. The adsorption agent was characterized by XPS and XRD to understand the recovery mechanism of Au(III) by PES/PmPD membrane. In addition, PES/PmPD membranes were single-selective for Au(III) in a variety of natural water bodies and highly acidic conditions. Therefore, the thin membrane material has great potential for recycling Au(III) from waste e-waste.