Photo from wikipedia
Abstract Thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes, which incorporate nanomaterials in a crosslinked polyamide matrix, often show enhanced separation properties thanks to the additional pores or channels offered by these materials.… Click to show full abstract
Abstract Thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes, which incorporate nanomaterials in a crosslinked polyamide matrix, often show enhanced separation properties thanks to the additional pores or channels offered by these materials. In this study, we deliberately created nanovoids in the dense polyamide rejection layer by acid-etching copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) contained in a TFN membrane. Systematic membrane characterization confirmed the complete removal of CuNPs using 1% HNO3, which formed nanovoids of approximately 10 nm in size. The water flux of the etched membrane TFC-Cu50X was nearly quadrupled compared to that of the CuNPs loaded membrane TFC-Cu50. This significantly improved water flux can be ascribed to the enhanced water transport through these nano-sized voids. The nanovoids-enhanced approach provides new possibilities for synthesizing high performance membranes.
Journal Title: Journal of Membrane Science
Year Published: 2019
Link to full text (if available)
Share on Social Media: Sign Up to like & get
recommendations!