Silk Nanofibril-Palygorskite Composite Membranes for Efficient Removal of Anionic Dyes

Abstract

To develop membrane materials with good performance for water purification that are green and low cost, this work reports an organic–inorganic composite membrane composed of silk nanofibrils (SNFs) and palygorskite (PGS). To improve the stability of the the composite membrane, genipin was used as a crosslinking agent to induce the conformational transition of SNF chains from random coils to β-sheets, reducing the swelling and hydrolysis of the membrane. The separation performance can be adjusted by tailoring the component ratio of the nanomaterial. The results showed that these membranes can effectively remove anionic dyes from water, and they exhibit excellent water permeability. The SNF-based membrane had strong mechanical and separation properties, and the PGS could tune the structure of composite membranes to enhance their permeability, so this green composite membrane has good prospects in water treatment and purification applications.