Nowadays, effective removal of dye and salt from aqueous solutions has received widespread attention in the field of wastewater treatment. In this study, Zr-based nanofillers were used to create high-flux polyethersulfone nanofiltration membranes with impressive anti-fouling performance. Three different levels of UiO-66-NH2 concentration (0.01, 0.1, 1 wt%) were used in membrane body. Solvothermal method was used to synthesize the nanoparticles, and their physical and chemical characteristics were examined through FTIR, XRD, EDAX, and FESEM analyses. Membranes properties also were investigated by SEM, porosity, water content, roughness, water contact angle, flux, separation efficiency, and fouling studies. The surface roughness of the blended membrane with 0.01 wt% nanoparticles (M2) was almost halved compared to the pristine membrane (M1). The water contact angle was also reduced from 70.98° for M1 to 39.09° for M2. The water flux of M2 with 0.01 wt% nanoparticles was 2.31 times higher than that of the pristine membrane. The MB, RhB, and RB21 dyes, as well as Na2SO4, MgSO4, MgCl2, and NaCl solutions, were used to investigate the membrane separation efficiency. All modified membranes showed significant dye retention for both cationic and anionic dyes, and sodium sulfate rejection reached up to > 93.2%. The M2 exhibited the best performance for removal of MB (95.8%), RhB (94.2%), and RB21 (83.6%). The FRR was 46.51% for bare membrane, whereas it was increased significantly for the modified samples up to > 86%. The total resistance of the optimal membrane was remarkably reduced compared to the PES pristine membrane.
