2. Synthesis and Characterization of Nanofiltration Membrane

Rapid industrialization and ever-increasing human activities lead to global environmental changes that affect the availability of naturally potable freshwater resources. Affordable and sustainable supply of adequate, clean, and safe water are major challenging concerns in the twenty-first century. Considerable efforts have been made to address the scarcity of safe water, and nanotechnology has emerged as a budding candidate with rapid development. One of the most economical and widely applied technologies for water purification is membrane separation technology. Pressure-driven membrane processes such as nanofiltration have emerged as a critical component of advanced water reuse methods. Key features such as water permeability and high salt rejection of solutes make nanofiltration membranes economically viable for water purification. Thus, the present chapter explores various methods to fabricate the improved nanofiltration membranes with techniques like interfacial polymerization, nanoparticle incorporation, UV treatment, plasma treatment, and layer-by-layer modification. The characterization of the membranes via techniques like scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis etc. are addressed. In addition, the prospects of nanofiltration membrane research and development are also explained.