LAUSR

The need for the removal of salt constituents is very critical in several downstream processes of biological materials and saltwater purification. Substantial efforts to drive low cost-effective techniques for desalination are ongoing, and it is hopeful that novel nanomaterials could provide useful insight to a new paradigm in salt capturing both in biogenic fluids and complex solutions like seawater. In this report, we demonstrate a microfluidic proof-of-concept for a desalination system, in which graphene oxide deposited on the paper substrate was used to remove salt-ion concentration. Our investigation suggests that the optimal modification of paper with the five-time deposition of graphene oxide (paper@5GO) shows the best salt removal performance with the salt-rejection efficiency of ~ 97.0%. The salt rejection occurs by the phenomenon of surface adsorption on the GO-modified paper membrane which is confirmed by the detailed analytical studies of pre- and post-treatment. The system presented does not require additional energy input in the process and thus would become cost-effective and scalable with high salt removal efficiency which may be useful in bioanalysis and saltwater purification for sustainable development.Graphical abstractWe demonstrate a microfluidic proof-of-concept for a desalination system, in which graphene oxide deposited on the paper substrate is used for the salt-rejection purpose that may be useful in bioanalysis and saltwater purification for sustainable development.