Enhanced modification technique for polyacrylonitrile UF membranes by direct hydrolysis in the immersion bath

Abstract

Conventional hydrolysis modification of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membranes is usually carried out in a post-treatment step during which hydrophilic groups are created on the membrane surface. In this article, however, direct hydrolysis in the immersion bath is proposed as a new and simple approach for simultaneous membrane preparation and modification. The main advantages of this method include lower alkali concentrations, promptness, and the lack of need for elevating temperature compared to other studies. The cast films were immersed in the coagulation bath containing aqueous NaOH solutions of various concentrations (0.003, 0.0125, 0.025, 0.05, and 0.1 M) for 1, 3, 5, and 10 min, which were then transferred to a bath of pure water. Membranes were characterized by pure water flux, porosity, average pore diameter, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle, mechanical properties, rejection, and flux recovery ratio (FRR) measurements. At all treatment times, the pure water flux of modified membranes reached its maximum at low NaOH concentrations with a substantial increase (210%) in the membrane treated with 0.0125 M NaOH for 1 min. Furthermore, the kinetics of the hydrolysis reaction was considered to provide deeper insights into morphological changes occurring during the hydrolysis.

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