Hydrophilic magnetic molecularly imprinted resin in PVDF membrane for efficient selective removal of dye.

Selective removal of contaminants from water by membranes is of practical importance for water purification and environmental protection. In the present study, through an in-situ polymerization process, a novel composite of FeO/molecularly imprinted resorcinol -formaldehyde-melamine resin (FeO/MIRFMR) was synthesized. Then, the novel membrane was prepared from a tea filter bag (TFB) as a base substrate which was subsequently coated by a casting solution containing polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrix, Prunus scoparia gum as a hydrophilic agent and FeO/MIRFMR as selective filler by phase inversion technique. Resorcinol as functional monomers with multiple hydrophilic groups such as -OH, -NH and -NH-, were used for selective removal of Rhodamine B (RhB) as target molecule. The FeO/MIRFMR/PVDF/TFB membranes were characterized by FE-SEM, XRD, FTIR, BET, VSM, water contact angle (WCA) and mechanical analysis. The filtration and adsorption of RhB on the prepared membrane was investigated parameters in a cross-module filtration setup. Casting solution containing 0.01 g of FeO/MIRFMR as optimum value showed good wettability, high water flux (42.5 L/m h), flux recovery ratio (88.9%), RhB removal efficiency (95.8%). The selectivity of 4.9, 3.3, 2.1 and 2.5 was found to be for RhB compared to AB, MG, EB, and TB dye. It seems that the fabricated membrane could be an effective and selective option for wastewater containing pollutants. The high removal efficiency, fouling resistance, good wettability and stability of the fabricated membrane are promising for use in practical water filtration, especially for selective removal of dyes.