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Improved blending strategy for membrane modification by virtue of surface segregation using surface-tailored amphiphilic nanoparticles

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Abstract

Membrane modification is one of the most feasible and effective solutions to membrane fouling problem which tenaciously hampers the further augmentation of membrane separation technology. Blending modification with nanoparticles (NPs), owing to the convenience of being incorporated in established membrane production lines, possesses an advantageous viability in practical applications. However, the existing blending strategy suffers from a low utilization efficiency due to NP encasement by membrane matrix. The current study proposed an improved blending modification approach with amphiphilic NPs (aNPs), which were prepared through silanization using 3-(Trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TMSPMA) as coupling agents and ZnO or SiO2 as pristine NPs (pNPs), respectively. The Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses revealed the presence of appropriate organic components in both the ZnO and SiO2 aNPs, which verified the success of the silanization process. As compared with the pristine and conventional pNP-blended membranes, both the ZnO aNP-blended and SiO2 aNP-blended membranes with proper silanization (100% and 200%w/w) achieved a significantly increased blending efficiency with more NPs scattering on the internal and external membrane surfaces under scanning electron microscope observation. This improvement contributed to the increase of membrane hydrophilicity. Nevertheless, an extra dosage of the TMSPMA led to an encasement of NPs, thereby adversely affecting the properties of the resultant membranes. On the basis of all the tests, 100% (w/w) was selected as the optimum TMSPMA dosage for blending modification for both the ZnO and SiO2 types.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Shuai Liang, Peng Gao & Xiaoqi Gao

  2. College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Kang Xiao

  3. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Xia Huang

Authors
  1. Shuai Liang
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  2. Peng Gao
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  3. Xiaoqi Gao
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  4. Kang Xiao
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  5. Xia Huang
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Correspondence to Shuai Liang.

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Liang, S., Gao, P., Gao, X. et al. Improved blending strategy for membrane modification by virtue of surface segregation using surface-tailored amphiphilic nanoparticles. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 10, 9 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-016-0875-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-016-0875-5

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