RESEARCH ARTICLE
Effect of adding a smart potassium ion-responsive copolymer into polysulfone support membrane on the performance of thin-film composite nanofiltration membrane
. Institute of New Energy and Low-Carbon Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610207, China.. College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.. School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.. Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.. Litree Purifying Technology Co., Ltd, Haikou 571126, China.. Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
Accepted: 2018-10-16
Available online: 2018-10-16
Abstract
Thin-film composite (TFC) nanofiltration (NF) membranes were fabricated via the interfacial polymerization of piperazine (PIP) and 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyl trichloride on polysulfone (PSf) support membranes blended with K -responsive poly( -isopropylacryamide-co-acryloylamidobenzo-15-crown-5) (P(NIPAM-co-AAB C )). Membranes were characterized by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscope, scanning electron microscope, contact angle, and filtration tests. The results showed that: (1) Under K -free conditions, the blended P(NIPAM-co-AAB C )/PSf supports had porous and hydrophilic surfaces, thereby producing NF membranes with smooth surfaces and low MgSO rejections; (2) With K in the PIP solution, the surface roughness and water permeability of the resultant NF membrane were increased due to the K -induced transition of low-content P(NIPAM-co-AAB C ) from hydrophilic to hydrophobic; (3) After a curing treatment at 95 °C, the improved NF membrane achieved an even higher pure water permeability of 10.97 L·m ·h ·bar under 200 psi. Overall, this study provides a novel method to improve the performance of NF membranes and helps understand the influence of supports on TFC membranes.