Influence of copper oxide nanomaterials in a poly(ether sulfone) membrane for improved humic acid and oil–water separation

In this study, self‐synthesized copper(I) oxide (Cu 2 O) nanoparticles were incorporated in poly(ether sulfone) (PES) mixed‐matrix membranes (MMMs) through the phase‐inversion method. A cubic arrangement and crystallite size of 28 nm was identified by transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) for the as‐synthesized Cu 2 O particles. The pristine PES membrane had a higher contact angle value of 88.50°, which was significantly reduced up to 50.10° for 1.5 wt % PES/Cu 2 O MMMs. Moreover, XRD analysis of the Cu 2 O‐incorporated PES membrane exhibited a new diffraction pattern at 36.46°. This ensured that the Cu 2 O nanoparticles were distributed well in the PES matrix. Interestingly, the water permeability progressively improved up to 66.72 × 10 −9 m s −1 kPa −1 for 1.5 wt % PES/Cu 2 O MMMs. Furthermore, the membrane performances were also evaluated with different feed solutions: (1) bovine serum albumin, (2) humic acid, and (3) oil–water. The enhanced rejection and lower flux reduction percentage were observed for hybrid membranes. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133 , 43873.