Effects of locations of cellulose nanofibers in membrane on the performance of positively charged membranes

Cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) with high hydrophilicity and huge specific surface area have great prospect for upgrading the performance of thin-film composite (TFC) membranes, but optimal location their incorporation in membrane is still unclear. Herein, we studied compared effects nanomaterials locations: i) embedded active separation layer (Embedded-CNFs), ii) as an interlayer between support (Interlayered-CNFs) on positively charged membrane. The CNFs locations TFC membrane's structure, morphology, physicochemical properties were investigated by a series characterizations. Compared Control membrane, both Embedded-CNFs Interlayered-CNFs had improved performance. Specifically, achieved significantly water flux 270% (53.1 Lm−2h−1 at 4 bar) MgCl2 rejection while increased 135%. Our work provides insights directions designing constructing high-performance membranes using environmentally friendly CNFs.