Self-assembled Negatively Charged GO-MWCNT Composite for Wastewater Filtration

The integration of nanoparticles in wastewater treatment technologies has become an attractive topic to improve the membrane’s hydrophilicity, which is a vital membrane property needed for the efficient removal of contaminants. Functionalized graphene oxide (FGO) and oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes were used to synthesize FGO/MWCNT-COOH nanocomposite. The components of the nanocomposite were characterized through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), zeta potential, and contact angle. The characterization tests of the synthesized nanoparticles indicated the presence of functional groups and the good hydrophilicity of the prepared nanocomposite. This nanocomposite with high hydrophilicity has a great potential to be integrated into the membrane matrix used for wastewater treatment. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.