Enhancing the Compatibility, Hydrophilicity and Mechanical Properties of Polysulfone Ultrafiltration Membranes with Lignocellulose Nanofibrils

Abstract

Lignocellulose nanofibrils (LCN) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) are popular nanometer additives to improve mechanical properties and hydrophilic abilities; moreover, lignocellulose has potential as a natural adhesion promoter in fiber-reinforced composites. LCN and CNF were blended into polysulfone (PSF) to prepare ultrafiltration membranes via the phase inversion method. These additives were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, and the rheological properties such as shear viscosity and non-Newtonian fluid index of the casting solutions were analyzed using a rotational rheometer. The performance of ultrafiltration membranes was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The pure water flux, bovine serum albumin retention ratio, water contact angle, surface energy, molecular weight cut-off, pore size and mechanical properties were measured. The equilibrium contact angle of water decreased from 63.5 • on the PSF membrane to 42.1 • on the CNF/PSF membrane and then decreased to 33.9 • on the LCN/PSF membrane when the nanometer additives content was 0.8 wt %. The results reveal that LCN and CNF were successfully combined with PSF. Moreover, the combination of LCN/PSF ultrafiltration membranes was more promising than that of CNF/PSF ultrafiltration membranes.

Enhanced mechanical properties of PDMS/PMMA composite membrane using MWCNTs and its application in phenol separation from saline wastewater

“…Therefore, it is necessary to enhance its mechanical property for long term operation and being subjected to high flow rates for wastewater treatment. Previous studies have reported several techniques to improve the mechanical properties of polymeric membranes such as plasma treatment, phase inversion, blending of cellulose nanofibrils with polymers, thermal treatment, and chemical modification . However, all these techniques either consume too much time or make membrane fabrication process complicated.…”

Investigation of characteristic and performance of polyvinyl chloride ultrafiltration membranes modified with silica‐oriented multi walled carbon nanotubes

“…Moreover, the agglomeration of nanoparticles caused blockage in some pores. [38] According to the EDS results ( Figure S2), the intensity of the silica nanoparticles embedded on the membrane surface increase based on the percentage of nanoparticles in the casting solution. There is a uniform distribution of nanoparticles on the surface of membranes at 0.25 and 0.5% of Si-MWCNT.…”

“…Among the PVC/Si-MWCNT nanocomposite membranes, PVC/0.5Si-MWCNT membrane had the largest pore diameter and also the highest surface porosity. [38] The changes in the membranes surface pore size and porosity might be attributed to the stronger hydrophilic nature of Si-MWCNT nanoparticles and the high casting solution viscosity, which accelerated the exchange rate between solvent and nonsolvent during the phase inversion which, in turn, led to a higher membrane porosity and a larger porous structure. [39,40] These results are also in accordance with the porosity and pore size data listed in Table 2.…”

Hepatocyte Aggregate Formation on Chitin-Based Anisotropic Microstructures of Butterfly Wings

“…The three-dimensional order (3D) microenvironment complexity contributes to regulate tumor growth in vivo [1,2,3,4]. In the liver tissue, hepatocytes are shaped in a single cord-like aggregate and connected by adjacent sinusoids [5,6,7,8]. Studies have been shown that hepatocytes cultured as spheroids have the ability to maintain long-term hepatic function and promote cell–cell communication and gap junction [9,10].…”