Chlorine-resistant polyester thin film composite nanofiltration membranes prepared with β-cyclodextrin

The chlorine resistance is recognized as one of the crucial and essential properties of membranes in water treatment field. In this study, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) with abundant hydrophilic hydroxyl groups as aqueous phase monomer and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) as organic phase monomer were utilized to fabricate the polyester thin film composite (TFC) nanofiltration (NF) membranes by interfacial polymerization (IP) method. The optimized β-CD polyester TFC membrane with 1.8 wt% β-CDs in aqueous phase was immersed in harsh chlorine environment (10000 ppm NaClO aqueous solution) up to 96 h and exhibited the steady water flux and dye rejection, manifesting the outstanding chlorine-resistant performance of β-CD polyester TFC membranes. The sodium hypochlorite cleaning experiments showed that NaClO was effective to remove the deposited and adsorbed foulants onto the β-CD polyester TFC membranes. Therefore, the superior chlorine resistance of β-CD polyester TFC nanofiltration membranes would find promising potential applications in water treatment processes.