Silicon dioxide incorporated cellulose acetate-mixed matrix membranes for Safranin-O removal from aqueous solutions

Nanoparticle incorporated-mixed matrix membranes are renowned for their multifaceted advantages, including improved hydrophilicity, elevated solute rejection, enhanced mechanical robustness, and augmented chemical and thermal stability. The inherent hydrophilicity of silicon dioxide (SiO₂) nanoparticles, due to silanol groups (Si-OH), along with their high porosity and surface area, renders them an ideal reinforcing filler within polymer matrices, significantly strengthening structural integrity of membranes. In this work, SiO₂ nanoparticles were incorporated in a cellulose acetate (CA) matrix to prepare CA/SiO₂ adsorptive membranes using phase inversion method. The performance of the membranes was assessed on the removal of Safranin-O (Sf-O) from aqueous solution. The physicochemical characterization of the synthesized membranes was assessed using contact angle, XRD, FE-SEM, EDS, FTIR, TGA, and tensile strength studies. The optimization studies on novel CA/SiO₂ membrane revealed that the membrane with 2.5 wt.% of SiO₂ in the CA matrix was the best in terms of Sf-O removal (approximately 100% dye removal) when the operating pH, initial dye concentration, and operating pressure were 9, 50 ppm, and 1 bar respectively. It is also found that 2.5 wt.% CA/SiO₂ membrane has higher water permeability than other membranes. Incorporating SiO₂ nanoparticles into a polymer matrix augments the structural, mechanical, and thermal properties of the resulting membranes while also enhancing water permeability, selectivity, and dye removal efficacy.