Mostafa Dadashi Firouzjaei

University of Alabama | UA · Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

Cationic methylene blue (MB) and anionic orange G (OG) dyes were adsorbed using the first-ever synthesized nanocomposite of MXene-AgMOF. At 200 mg/L and 0.01 g, GO-AgMOF, MXene-AgMOF, and AgMOF were able to adsorb 99.9%, 99.0%, and 98.0% of cationic MB dye, respectively, from water. The nanocomposites were characterized both before and after adsorp...

The mutations of bacteria due to the excessive use of antibiotics, and generation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have made the development of new antibacterial compounds a necessity. MXenes have emerged as biocompatible transition metal carbide structures with extensive biomedical applications. This is related to the MXenes' unique combination of...

Biofouling is a pivotal problem for polymeric membranes used in water treatment and reuse. Surface functionalization is a promising practice to improve the resistance of membranes to biofouling. Diverse materials, synthesis methods, and functionalization techniques will be needed to address different applications. Herein, we employed a novel ultras...

Textile wastewater is one of the most challenging streams for wastewater treatment as it is heavily contaminated with solid pollutants such as dyes. Nanofiltration (NF) membranes are a promising method to protect water resources by removing dyes and other organic contaminants from wastewater. In this study, novel NF membranes composed of a thin lay...

Herein, silver-based metal-organic framework (AgMOF) and its graphene oxide (GO)-decorated nanocomposite (GO-AgMOF) are proposed for use in emerging biomedical applications. The nanocomposites are characterized, and hence, in vitro apoptotic and antibacterial features of AgMOF and GO-AgMOF nanomaterials were investigated. An MTT cytocompatibility a...

In this study, modified loose nanofiltration membranes were prepared by in-situ decoration with Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-7 (ZIF-7) on the surface of porous polyethersulfone substrates functionalized with co-deposited sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) zwitterion (ZW) and polydopamine (PDA). With the aid of ZW/PDA active layer co-deposition unde...

It is widely acknowledged that three‐dimensional (3D) printing, or additive manufacturing, will revolutionize many industries. However, the broad implications of 3D printing on water treatment membranes are not appreciated. 3D printing will transform the traditional membrane fabrication methods, reducing costs and industrial waste from manufacturin...

MXenes have significantly impacted materials science and nanotechnology since their discovery in 2011. Theoretical calculations have predicted more than 100 possible compositions of MXenes and lab-scale fabrication of more than 40 MXene structures has been reported to date. The unique characteristics of MXenes have made them an ideal fit for a wide...

Membrane fouling is the main bottleneck that restricts the practical applications of membrane processes. In this work, we report an effective and scalable method to reduce the fouling of polyamide thin film composite (TFC) membranes by grafting amine-functionalized nanodiamond (ND) particles. The surface chemistry of ND was modified to improve the...

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) encompass a wide range of compounds containing carbon–fluorine bonds. Due the strength of this bond and the high electronegativity of fluorine atoms, PFAS display stability, wettability and other characteristics that are unique for industrial applications and products. However, PFAS induce adverse effects...

Biofouling is a major challenge for desalination, water treatment, and water reuse applications using polymer-based membranes. Two classes of novel silver-based metal azolate frameworks (MAF) are proposed to decorate polyamide (PA) forward osmosis membranes and to improve numerous aspects of fouling and transport. Membranes functionalized with two...

This case studied the treatment of cheese whey wastewater (CWW) from the Kalleh® dairy industry using a membrane bioreactor (MBR). The coagulation process and activated sludge sections eliminated 26% and 75% of organic matter from CWW with chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 10,000 mg/l, respectively. In the MBR, metal-organic framework (MOF)-modified...

Ultrafiltration membranes with antifouling and antibacterial properties are greatly beneficial for all industrial applications and to supply safe water worldwide. Improving these properties while maintaining both high productivity and high product water quality remains a challenge. This work proposes the surface functionalization of an ultrafiltrat...

Produced water (PW) generation has been increasing recently due to the expansion of fossil fuel extraction and the aging of oil wells worldwide, especially in the United States. The adverse health risks, seismicity, and environmental impacts associated with PW have become a challenging concern. Therefore, there is increased demand for improved PW t...

In this work, nanorods with highly antibacterial properties were synthesized with silver acetate as a metal source and 2-aminoterephthalic acid as an organic linker, and were then embedded into thin-film composite (TFC) membranes to amend their performance as well as to alleviate biofouling. Silver metal-organic frameworks (Ag-MOFs) nanorods with a...

In this study, a polyamide forward osmosis membrane was functionalized with zwitterions followed by the in-situ growth of metal-organic frameworks with silver as metal core (Ag-MOFs) to improve its antibacterial and antifouling activity. First, 3-bromopropionic acid was grafted onto the membrane surface after its activation with N, N-diethylethylen...

This study investigates the effect of surface functionalization of a thin-film composite forward osmosis membrane with zwitterions and silver-based metal organic frameworks (Ag-MOFs) to improve the antifouling, anti-biofouling, and antimicrobial activity of the membrane. Two types of zwitterions, namely, 3-bromopropionic acid and 1,3-propane sulton...

The synthesis of nanostructures with tunable antibacterial properties using green solvents at room temperature is of environmental interest, and antibacterial nanomaterials have application in the fabrication of biofouling-resistant membranes for water purification and wastewater treatment. In this study, we investigate the effect of organic ligand...

Forward osmosis (FO) is an osmotically driven process widely studied for water desalination, wastewater treatment, and water reuse, as well as dilution and concentration of aqueous streams. However, its application is still hampered by the lack of ideal draw solutes, high-performance membranes, and fouling/biofouling. Biofouling is particularly cha...

Loose nanofiltration membranes, which have a loose selective layer and desired surface charge, provide high water flux and significant retention of low molecular weight molecules. In this study, a thin film of copper (II)- benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate (Cu-BTC) clusters was anchored on the surface of a chitosan (CS)-coated polyethersulfone (PES) mem...

Water pollution is one of the greatest challenges around the world. Nanocomposite membranes are a promising modified version of traditional polymeric membranes for water treatment, with three main characteristics of enhanced permeation, improved rejection and reduced fouling. For novel nanocomposite membranes, there is a strong connection between t...

Thin-film composite (TFC) membranes still suffer from fouling and biofouling. In this work, by incorporating a graphene oxide GO-silver-based metal-organic framework (Ag-MOF) into the TFC selective layer, we synthesized a thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane that has notably-improved anti-biofouling and antifouling properties. The TFN membrane ha...

The trade-off relationship between permeability, selectivity, and antifouling capability of nanocomposite membranes is the focal point of effective membrane technology. This study introduces a new gold nanocomposite membrane with enhanced antifouling behavior and permeability, as well as improved rejection capability for water treatment. Different...

Silver‐based nanomaterials have attracted considerable attention due to their antimicrobial activities. In this work, a silver (Ag)‐based metal organic framework (Ag‐MOF) is embellished with graphene‐oxide (GO), leading to the fabrication of a novel Ag‐based nanocomposite (GO‐Ag‐MOF) whose biocidal activity is higher than those of Ag‐MOF and GO nan...

This work shows that incorporating highly-compatible polyrhodanine nanoparticles (PRh-NPs) into a polyamide (PA) active layer allows for fabricating forward osmosis (FO) thin-film composite (TFC)-PRh membranes that have simultaneously-improved anti-microbial, antifouling, and transport properties. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first rep...

In this study, a hydrophilic metal-organic framework (MOF) was applied to improve the performance of a cellulosic membrane for forward osmosis (FO) desalination application. The characterization results confirmed that the MOF particles existed within the matrix of the modified membrane. The MOF loading led to adjustment of the membranes in terms of...