In situ growth of a tubular MoS2 membrane on a ceramic tube with improved organic solvent nanofiltration performance

Abstract

As a unique characteristic two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide, molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) has become a promising membrane material for organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) due to its good separation performance and stability. In this work, an MoS₂ tubular ceramic membrane is prepared via an in situ hydrothermal method, exhibiting quite good stability in organic solvent. The 3D nanoflower-like structure of the MoS₂ layer endows the modified membrane with an excellent OSN performance. With separation of a methanol solution of Evans blue (EB), the methanol flux was 403.1 L m⁻² h⁻¹ MPa⁻¹ and the rejection of EB was 98.1%. The adhesion structures at the surface of MoS₂/Al₂O₃ were evaluated using density functional theory, and an interfacial distance of 3.2 Å was obtained. Considering non-bond S–O interactions in addition to van der Waals forces, the work of adhesion (0.55 J m⁻²) and charge transfer process between the MoS₂ layer and the ceramic substrate indicate good stability. The MoS₂ tubular ceramic membrane maintains separation stability after performing in organic solvents of DMF for 80 h under cross-flow.