Issue 22, 2022

Partially oxidised boron nitride as a 2D nanomaterial for nanofiltration applications

Abstract

Boron nitride (BN) based 2D nanomaterials are an emerging class of materials for the development of new membranes for nanofiltration applications. Here, we report the preparation, characterisation and testing of highly promising nanofiltration membranes produced from partially oxidised BN (BNOx) 2D nanosheets. In our work, the partial oxidation of BN was successfully achieved by heating the bulk h-BN powder in air at 1000 °C, resulting in BNOx product. The characterisation of the sample showed the presence of B–OH groups corresponding to the partial oxidisation of the BN. The BNOx material was then exfoliated in water and used to produce membranes, using vacuum filtration. These membranes were characterised using electron microscopy, BET and mercury porosimetry techniques. The membranes have also been tested in water purification and removal of several typical water-soluble dyes, demonstrating outstanding retention values close to 100%. We believe that this research opens up new opportunities for further production, as well as chemical functionalisation and modification of membranes for nanofiltration and separation technologies.

Graphical abstract: Partially oxidised boron nitride as a 2D nanomaterial for nanofiltration applications

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Jul 2022
Accepted
24 Oct 2022
First published
25 Oct 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Nanoscale Adv., 2022,4, 4895-4904

Partially oxidised boron nitride as a 2D nanomaterial for nanofiltration applications

N. G. Doménech, Á. Coogan, F. Purcell-Milton, M. L. Casasín García, A. S. Arjona, M. B. Cabré, A. Rafferty, K. McKelvey, P. Dunne and Y. K. Gun'ko, Nanoscale Adv., 2022, 4, 4895 DOI: 10.1039/D2NA00472K

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