Hydrophilicity and surface charge modulation of Ti ₃ C ₂ T _<i>x</i> MXene based membranes for water desalination

Lamellar membranes obtained by stacking 2D layers possess ample transport pathways due to their intricate network of interlayer gaps. This makes them suitable for molecular separation applications. However, controlling the surface chemistry of the nanochannels within the membrane to tune the desired transport properties of water and ions is challenging. Ti₃C₂T _<i>x</i> has been considered for water desalination because of its hydrophilic surface and negative surface charge. Most of the studies of Ti₃C₂T _<i>x</i> membranes have presented promising salt rejection values in forward osmosis mode, which is less practical for water purification. Here, we investigate two types of reverse osmosis MXene-based lamellar membranes consisting of Ti₃C₂T _<i>x</i> nanosheets hybridized with (i) WS₂ nanosheets and (ii) polyvinyl phosphonic acid (PVPA). When hydrophilic and flexible Ti₃C₂T _<i>x</i> nanosheets are interleaved with softer and more hydrophobic WS₂ nanosheets in 2 : 1 mass ratio, nano capillaries with Janus chemistry are created with comparable rejection to bare Ti₃C₂T _<i>x</i> membrane and threefold higher permeance values. Further, we find that decorating Ti₃C₂T _<i>x</i> nanosheets with anionic polymers improves salt rejection. Our Ti₃C₂T _<i>x</i> /PVPA composite membranes reject ∼97% of divalent ions and ∼80% of monovalent ions with ∼0.2 Lm^-2 h^-1 bar^-1 of water permeance when tested with brackish water, and exhibit significantly improved chlorine resistance and cost benefits over the commercial Toray membranes.