Electrospun nanofiber membranes

Abstract

The development of nanofiber technology offers viable means to produce nanofibrous articles, useful for many health, energy and environmental applications. In specific, polymeric nanofibers fabricated by electrospinning can be used as effective membrane materials for environmental remediation due to the light weight, high surface area and interconnected porous structure. In this paper, we review some recent advances in electrospinning for mass production of nanofiber membranes, especially suitable for water purification. These electrospun nanofibers not only can form highly porous membranes with controlled pore size, but also can be functionalized to enhance the separation performance. Various composite membrane formats containing different arrangements of nanofibers have been demonstrated for many sorts of water applications, including microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, membrane distillation and adsorption.

The Key Role of Modifications in Biointerfaces toward Rendering Antibacterial and Antifouling Properties in Polymeric Membranes for Water Remediation: A Critical Assessment

“…[6,48] Through this, the porosity, associated pore size distribution, and the surface morphology of the ENMs can be manipulated. [50] Among them, the hydrophilic polymers like PAN, cross-linked PVA, and CA have edge over hydrophobic polymers like PVDF because these materials resist bacterial and protein fouling. [50] Among them, the hydrophilic polymers like PAN, cross-linked PVA, and CA have edge over hydrophobic polymers like PVDF because these materials resist bacterial and protein fouling.…”

Membrane Science and Membrane Engineering: a Successful Story

“…[5] Electrospun nano-fiber membranes show very interesting results, too. [6][7][8][9] In electrospinning process, the fibers formed show very high porosity, excellent hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity (for applications that do not favor hydrophobicity such as for biomedical applications, for reducing protein adhesion, etc. ), very good interconnectivity and very high surface to volume ratio making them interesting candidates, for example, for desalination applications.…”

On the design and properties of scaffolds based on vertically aligned carbon nanotubes transferred onto electrospun poly (lactic acid) fibers

“…In the last two decades, electrospinning has emerged as an exciting tool for the production of ultrathin and nanofibers with a wide range of properties [1,2]. Among several advantages, the simplicity, versatility and cost-effectiveness of this technique have attracted much attention from various fields of research.…”