Terminally hydroxylated polypropylene (PP) synthesized by a chain transfer method was grafted to graphene oxide (GO) at the chain end. Thus obtained PP-modified GO (PP-GO) was melt mixed with PP without the use of a compatibilizer to prepare PP/GO nanocomposites. Mechanical and electrical properties of the resultant nanocomposites and reference samples that contained graphite nanoplatelets, partially reduced GO, or fully reduced GO were examined. The best improvement in the tensile strength was obtained using PP-GO at 1.0 wt %. The inclusion of PP-GO also led to the highest electrical conductivity, in spite of the incomplete reduction. These observations pointed out that terminally hydroxylated PP covalently grafted to GO prevented GO layers from re-stacking and agglomeration during melt mixing, affording improved dispersion as well as stronger interfacial bonding between the matrix and GO.

Deposition of UiO-66 metal–organic framework nanoparticles onto a porous polymer support is a promising approach to designing highly-permeable, size-selective, flexible, and stable membranes for water filtration. In this article, a series of UiO-66 nanoparticles having different particle sizes were synthesized and employed to prepare UiO-66-deposited composite membranes. It was found that the size of the UiO-66 nanoparticles had great influences on the performance of the composite membranes for the filtration of a methylene blue aqueous solution. The deposition of smaller nanoparticles afforded a selective layer having a greater external surface area and narrower interparticle voids. These features made the deposition of smaller nanoparticles more advantageous in terms of the flux and rejection, while the deposition of greater nanoparticles afforded a selective layer more tolerant for fouling. Bimodal composite membranes were prepared by depositing mixed UiO-66 nanoparticles of smaller and bigger sizes. These membranes successfully combined the advantages of nanoparticles of a distinct size.