Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, cilt.237, sa.2, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
This study introduces a novel strategy to enhance reverse osmosis (RO) membrane performance by incorporating zinc oxide-hexagonal boron nitride (ZnO/h-BN-OH) hybrid nanoparticles into a polyamide thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) structure via interfacial polymerization. The ZnO/h-BN-OH hybrid nanoparticles was synthesized using a hydrothermal-assisted sol–gel approach, and its structural, morphological, and thermal characteristics were analyzed using XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX, TGA, AFM, and BET techniques. Embedding ZnO/h-BN-OH into the PA layer improved membrane hydrophilicity, reducing the contact angle and boosting the water flux to 48.5 L/m2·h at 0.015 wt.% loading—a significant enhancement compared to the pristine membrane (36.64 L/m2·h). The modified membranes achieved an outstanding Na₂SO₄ rejection rate of 98.5% and exhibited excellent antifouling performance with a BSA rejection 99.6% at optimal loading. These results highlight the synergistic benefits of ZnO and h-BN integration, offering a promising route to overcome the permeability-selectivity trade-off and fouling challenges in TFN-RO membranes. This work provides a new framework for designing high-performance membranes for sustainable desalination applications.