Heterogeneous interlayer regulated wrinkled nanofiltration for PPCPs removal

The amphiphilic interlayer regulates IP and forms a heterogeneous interface. • The TFC-5:5 has an ultra-thin (~60 nm) polyamide layer with numerous wrinkles. • The TFC-5:5 membrane reaches 23.5 L·m −2 ·h −1 ·bar −1 flux and 97.5% salt rejection. • The TFC-5:5 membrane features highly efficient PPCPs removal. • The TFC-5:5 membrane shows an excellent long-term performance Thin film composite (TFC) nanofiltration (NF) membranes suffer from a permeability–selectivity trade-off when removing pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) from water. To address this issue, we fabricated an interlayer composed of laterally alternating hydrophilic polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers on a polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration support layer. By precisely controlling the interfacial polymerization conditions, the interlayer composition influences the thickness and chemical structure of the polyamide (PA) layer. The optimized TFC-5:5 membrane exhibited an ultrathin (~60 nm), highly crosslinked (79.1%), and wrinkled PA layer, achieving a water permeance of 23.5 L·m −2 ·h −1 ·bar −1 with Na 2 SO 4 rejection above 97.5%, strong anti-fouling ability, and significantly improved PPCP removal. These results demonstrate that a macroscopically uniform yet microscopically heterogeneous hydrophilic–hydrophobic alternating nanofiber structure promotes PA wrinkling, mitigates the permeability–selectivity trade-off, and provides a versatile platform for the development of high-performance separation membranes. Download: Download high-res image (141KB) Download: Download full-size image