Electrospun nanocomposite membranes (ENCMs) offer promising advancements for water microfiltration (MF) applications. In this study, polycarbonate/thermoplastic polyurethane (PC/TPU) nanocomposite membranes were electrospun and incorporated with 1, 3, and 5 wt.% copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs). The resulting membranes were evaluated in terms of their morphological features, chemical composition, hydrophilicity, tensile strength, water flux performance, and anti-fouling capabilities. Morphological analysis revealed that the average diameter of the electrospun nanofibers ranged between 67 and 90 nm. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) indicated a tendency for CuO NPs migration and agglomeration at the highest loading of 5 wt.%. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the presence of all characteristic functional groups from the constituent materials in the final nanocomposite membranes. Water contact angle (WCA) measurements demonstrated a significant improvement in membrane hydrophilicity with CuO NP incorporation. Specifically, WCA decreased from 114° for the neat membrane to 63° when the CuO NP content was increased to 3 wt.%. Water flux experiments were carried out using a submerged filtration module with humic acid (HA) as a model organic pollutant. The membrane containing 3 wt.% CuO NPs exhibited a pure water flux of 907 L.m−2.h−1 and a HA solution flux of 446 L.m−2.h−1. Furthermore, NFM-Cu3 displayed superior anti-fouling performance with an irreversible fouling ratio (IFR) of only 5.8% and high HA rejection efficiency of about 99%. These findings suggest that ENCMs containing CuO NPs has the potential to serve as an effective alternative to conventional thin-film polymer membranes in water filtration systems, offering improved permeability, selectivity, and fouling resistance.
