Journal article
Electroconductive MXene-Thin-Film-Composite Membranes for Coupled Osmotic Concentration and PFAS Mineralization
Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany), pe75540
31 Aug 2026
PMID: 42675963
Abstract
We introduce an integrated treatment system that couples osmotic dewatering with advanced oxidation (AO) using electrically conductive Ti
C
T
MXene-based membranes, enabling simultaneous PFAS concentration and electrochemical degradation and mineralization. Conductive thin-film composite membranes were fabricated by depositing Ti
C
T
either on the active layer or on the porous support, with the active layer retained on the opposite surface. These architectures enabled operation of advanced- oxidation forward-osmosis (AO-FO) and advanced- oxidation pressure-retarded-osmosis (AO-PRO) modes, respectively. The MXene-based membranes exhibited high electrical conductivity (5446 S·cm
) and achieved 99% rejection of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Electrochemical degradation experiments showed that increasing the applied current density from 200 to 500 A/m
enhanced PFOA degradation and mineralization. At 500 A/m
, total organic carbon removal reached 75% in the AO-FO mode and 93% in the AO-PRO mode. The superior performance of the AO-PRO configuration is attributed to the synergistic effects of stronger osmotic dewatering, which increases the local PFOA concentration, and the favorable structural and electrochemical properties of the MX-B membrane architecture, including lower charge-transfer resistance and enhanced physical stability, thereby accelerating PFOA degradation. Furthermore, the integrated process reduced energy consumption, highlighting the potential of MXene-enabled osmotic-electrochemical systems for energy-efficient PFAS destruction and safe effluent management.
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Details
- Title
- Electroconductive MXene-Thin-Film-Composite Membranes for Coupled Osmotic Concentration and PFAS Mineralization
- Creators
- Afrouz Yousefi - University of AlbertaPooria Karami - University of AlbertaVahid Rad - Drexel UniversityAmir Aghaei - University of AlbertaMojtaba Mohseni - RWTH Aachen UniversityLingling Yang - University of AlbertaMasoud Soroush - Drexel UniversityMatthias Wessling - RWTH Aachen UniversityMohamed Gamal El-Din - University of AlbertaMohtada Sadrzadeh (Corresponding Author) - University of Alberta
- Publication Details
- Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany), pe75540
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 23
- Grant note
- CMMI-2134607 / U.S. National Science Foundation Alberta Innovates Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Chemical and Biological Engineering
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001863786900001
- Other Identifier
- 991022203469104721