Flux enhancement by argon–oxygen plasma treatment of polyethersulfone membranes

Saxena, Nimisha; Prabhavathy, C.; De, Sirshendu; DasGupta, Sunando

doi:10.1016/j.seppur.2009.09.011

Cited by 62 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…However, this hydrophobicity leads to hydrophobic interactions with, e.g., proteins resulting in a fouling layer precipitated on the membrane surface accompanied by a decreased membrane performance [1,2]. The common way to face this problem is to hydrophilize the hydrophobic membrane material [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] with different modification methods like grafting reactions [6,[8][9][10][11][12], electron beam (EB) irradiation [13,14] or plasma treatment [5,[15][16][17][18][19][20]. The hydrophilized membrane surfaces then show an increased fouling resistance due to the buildup of a water film on the membrane surface, which repels hydrophobic fouling reagents [21].…”

Section: Membrane Surface Hydrophilicity and Surface Chargementioning

confidence: 99%

Tailoring Membrane Surface Charges: A Novel Study on Electrostatic Interactions during Membrane Fouling

et al. 2015

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Abstract:In this work we aim to show that the overall surface potential is a key factor to understand and predict anti-fouling characteristics of a polymer membrane. Therefore, polyvinylidene fluoride membranes were modified by electron beam-induced grafting reactions forming neutral, acidic, alkaline or zwitterionic structures on the membrane surface. The differently charged membranes were investigated regarding their surface properties using diverse analytical methods: zeta potential, static and dynamic water contact angle, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Porosimetry measurements proved that there is no pore blocking due to the modifications. Monodisperse suspensions of differently charged polystyrene beads were synthesized by a radical emulsion polymerization reaction and were used as a model fouling reagent, preventing comparability problems known from current literature. To simulate membrane fouling, different bead suspensions were filtered through the membranes. The fouling characteristics were investigated regarding permeation flux decline and concentration of model fouling reagent in filtrate as well as by SEM. By considering electrostatic interactions equal to hydrophobic interactions we developed a novel fouling test system, which enables the prediction of a membrane's fouling tendency. Electrostatic forces are dominating, especially when charged fouling reagents are present, and can help to explain fouling characteristics that cannot be explained considering the surface wettability.

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Section: Membrane Surface Hydrophilicity and Surface Chargementioning

confidence: 99%

Tailoring Membrane Surface Charges: A Novel Study on Electrostatic Interactions during Membrane Fouling

et al. 2015

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“…These alterations depend on the gas used for the surface modifications, as also noted in literature [8, 40–42]. Thus, it is plausible that during the membrane activation with plasmas, containing simple non-carbon gases (such as Ar or O 2 ), the molecular bonds of the superficial layer, such as C—C and C—H, are cleaved resulting in desaturation of the carbon chain.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…PES is one of the most frequently used compounds in membrane synthesis, despite being a hydrophobic polymer. This can be attributed to its high resistance to cleaning reagents (such as hypochlorite and sodium hydroxide) and the fact that it can be used over a wide pH range [40]. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plasma deposition of silver nanoparticles on ultrafiltration membranes: Antibacterial and anti-biofouling properties

Cruz

Ruano

Wolf

et al. 2015

Chemical Engineering Research and Design

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A novel and versatile plasma reactor was used to modify Polyethersulphone commercial membranes. The equipment was applied to: i) functionalize the membranes with low-temperature plasmas, ii) deposit a film of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) and, iii) deposit silver nanoparticles (SNP) by Gas Flow Sputtering. Each modification process was performed in the same reactor consecutively, without exposure of the membranes to atmospheric air. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the particles and modified membranes. SNP are evenly distributed on the membrane surface. Particle fixation and transport inside membranes were assessed before- and after-washing assays by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth profiling analysis. PMMA addition improved SNP fixation. Plasma-treated membranes showed higher hydrophilicity. Anti-biofouling activity was successfully achieved against Gram-positive (Enterococcus faecalis) and -negative (Salmonella Typhimurium) bacteria. Therefore, disinfection by ultrafiltration showed substantial resistance to biofouling. The post-synthesis functionalization process developed provides a more efficient fabrication route for anti-biofouling and anti-bacterial membranes used in the water treatment field. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a gas phase condensation process combined with a PECVD procedure in order to deposit SNP on commercial membranes to inhibit biofouling formation.

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“…[50], plasma induced grafting and plasma treatment [51,52], thermal induced immobilization and grafting [30,53], and surface-initiatedatom-transfer-radical polymerization [54][55][56][57]. With these modification methods several novel polymerization methods were developed, like reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, free radical solution polymerization (FRSP) and click chemistry methods.…”

Section: Modification Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overview of PES biocompatible/hemodialysis membranes: PES–blood interactions and modification techniques

Irfan

Idris

2015

Materials Science and Engineering: C

120

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Flux enhancement by argon–oxygen plasma treatment of polyethersulfone membranes

Cited by 62 publications

References 27 publications

Tailoring Membrane Surface Charges: A Novel Study on Electrostatic Interactions during Membrane Fouling

Tailoring Membrane Surface Charges: A Novel Study on Electrostatic Interactions during Membrane Fouling

Plasma deposition of silver nanoparticles on ultrafiltration membranes: Antibacterial and anti-biofouling properties

Overview of PES biocompatible/hemodialysis membranes: PES–blood interactions and modification techniques

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