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Effect of preparation conditions on the morphology, polymorphism and mechanical properties of polyvinylidene fluoride membranes formed via thermally induced phase separation

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Abstract

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes were prepared from PVDF/sulfolane (SFL) solutions using the thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) method. The effects of PVDF concentration and dissolving temperature on the morphology, polymorphism and mechanical properties of such prepared membranes were investigated. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) was performed to observe the membrane morphology, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) along with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to analyze the crystalline structure and thermal behaviors of membranes, respectively. Based on the experimental results, PVDF mainly crystallized into α phase in the overall membranes for all the investigated cases. As the PVDF concentration in the casting solution was raised, the total crystallinity and tensile strength of the membranes increased, while the porosity decreased. With the increase in dissolving temperature, the total crystallinity and porosity of the membranes increased slightly; however, the tensile strength decreased. The FESEM photomicrographs of cross-sections of membranes indicated that an interconnected bi-continuous structure was obtained in the PVDF/SFL (30 wt.% PVDF) system with a dissolving temperature of 120 °C, while the rest of the investigated membranes showed spherical or irregular particle structure, consequently, the tensile strength was improved from 3.5 to 7.5 MPa, and the energy consumption of membrane preparation was reduced.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21176188, 21106100, 51278336), Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (20111201110004), Research Program of Application Foundation and Advanced Technology, Tianjin, China (11JCYBJC04700).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Hollow Fiber Membrane Materials and Membrane Processes, Institute of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin, 300387, People’s Republic of China

    Jie Liu, Xiaolong Lu, Chunrui Wu & Chen Zhao

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  1. Jie Liu
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  2. Xiaolong Lu
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  3. Chunrui Wu
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  4. Chen Zhao
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Correspondence to Xiaolong Lu.

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Liu, J., Lu, X., Wu, C. et al. Effect of preparation conditions on the morphology, polymorphism and mechanical properties of polyvinylidene fluoride membranes formed via thermally induced phase separation. J Polym Res 20, 321 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-013-0321-3

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