Hybridization of Hydrophilic‐Hydrophobic Balanced Polyimide Membranes With Nanoporous Entities (TiO ₂ , SiO ₂ , and MOF) for Efficient Removal of Neurotoxic Organic Solvents and Oil From Wastewater

The growing global concern over oily wastewater pollution necessitates the development of advanced and efficient separation technologies. In this study, polyimide (PI) based mixed matrix membranes were fabricated by incorporating SiO 2 , TiO 2 , and metal organic frameworks (MOFs) into a polyethersulfone (PES) matrix to enhance oily wastewater treatment performance. The successful integration of these nanomaterials was confirmed through FTIR and XRD analysis. The modified membranes showed enhanced thermal stability (Tg PES/PI/MOF: 80.63°C) and increased surface hydrophilicity. Among the fabricated membranes, MOF incorporated exhibited the highest pure water flux of 50 L m −2 h −1 . The PES/PI/MOF membrane achieved superior performance in separating different oil water emulsions, including DCM/SLS and PE/CTAB systems, with flux of 73.23 ± 0.82 L m −2 h −1 and 64.78 ± 0.59 L m −2 h −1 , respectively. It also displayed a high flux recovery ratio (82.34%), demonstrating excellent antifouling behavior, and achieved an oil rejection efficiency of 83.02% for the DCM/SLS emulsion. Overall, this study highlights the synergistic effect of nanomaterial incorporation in enhancing membrane permeability, selectivity, and fouling resistance, showing PES/PI based mixed matrix membrane as promising candidates for sustainable oily wastewater treatment applications.