Preparation and performance of the novel PVDF ultrafiltration membranes blending with PVA modified SiO₂ hydrophilic nanoparticles

Abstract

In this study, PVA‐SiO2 was synthesized by modifying silica (SiO2) with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), then a novel polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration (UF) membrane was prepared by incorporating the prepared PVA‐SiO2 into membrane matrix using the non‐solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) method. The effects of PVA‐SiO2 particle on the properties of the PVDF membrane were systematically studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), surface pore size, porosity, and water contact angle. The results indicated that with the addition of PVA‐SiO2 particles in the PVDF UF membranes, membrane mean pore size increased from 80.06 to 126.00 nm, porosity improved from 77.4% to 89.1%, and water contact angle decreased from 75.61° to 63.10°. Furthermore, ultrafiltration experiments were conducted in terms of pure water flux, bovine serum albumin (BSA) rejection, and anti‐fouling performance. It indicated that with the addition of PVA‐SiO2 particles, pure water flux increased from 70 to 126 L/m2 h, BSA rejection increased from 67% to 86%, flux recovery ratio increased from 60% to 96%, total fouling ratio decreased from 50% to 18.7%, and irreversible fouling ratio decreased from 40% to 4%. Membrane anti‐fouling property was improved, and it can be expected that this work may provide some references to the improvement of the anti‐fouling performance of the PVDF ultrafiltration membrane. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:E412–E421, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers

Improving the Performance of PVDF/PVDF-g-PEGMA Ultrafiltration Membranes by Partial Solvent Substitution with Green Solvent Dimethyl Sulfoxide during Fabrication

“…Poly­(vinylidene) fluoride (PVDF) is a well-established polymeric material to produce ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) membranes owing to its exceptional mechanical properties, chemical resistance, and thermal stability. − However, despite its many advantages, the hydrophobicity of PVDF can induce severe membrane fouling, which is a main obstacle that limits its applications. − Thanks to the compatibility of the PVDF matrix with amphiphilic copolymers, modifications of PVDF membranes by blending with other more hydrophilic components have been reported widely. − The atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) method can be applied to enhance the properties of polymers by grafting chains with different characteristics, making the preparation of many new copolymers possible. − Specifically, PVDF- graft -poly­(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PVDF- g -PEGMA) has been successfully synthesized and characterized. ,, Membranes with promising fouling resistance behavior were thus produced by blending this PVDF- g -PEGMA material with traditional PVDF …”

Electric-field-driven interfacial trapping of drifting triboelectric charges via contact electrification

“…Initially, core SiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) were simply synthesized through the well-known Sto ¨ber method [51][52][53] in ethanol media with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and catalyzed by ammonia to make the hydrophilic surface of synthesized NPs. [54][55][56] FE-SEM images of synthesized SiO 2 NPs clearly demonstrated quite uniform and spherical particles distribution with a narrow average size of about 100 (AE5) nm, which could also be tuned by adjusting the concentration of TEOS. SiO 2 NPs were re-dispersed in ethanol using ultrasonication and coated onto the Ni-mesh via a dip-coating process.…”

PVDF based Nanocomposite Membranes: Application towards Wastewater treatment

“…Now a day's applications extended to separation process, nanoporous silica provide inner channels for water molecules and enhance water flux also offer attractive possibilities for the preparation of ultrafiltration nanocomposite membrane. demonstrated that hydrophilicity, water flux and rejection of bovine serum albumin increased due to hydroxyl groups of polyvinyl alcohol and silica particles [56].…”