Atefeh Tizchang; Yoones Jafarzadeh; Reza Yegani; Elham Shokri
Abstract
In this study, polysulfone (PSf) nanocomposite membranes embedded with functionalized nanodiamond (ND) were prepared via Non-Solvent Induced Phase Separation (NIPS) method. ND nanoparticles were silanized by using the esterification reaction of hydrolyzed vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTS) in alcoholic solution ...
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In this study, polysulfone (PSf) nanocomposite membranes embedded with functionalized nanodiamond (ND) were prepared via Non-Solvent Induced Phase Separation (NIPS) method. ND nanoparticles were silanized by using the esterification reaction of hydrolyzed vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTS) in alcoholic solution in order to enhance the compatibility between ND and PSf. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed that ND nanoparticles were successfully functionalized by silane groups. Nanocomposite membranes were then prepared with different percentages of silanized NDs (SNDs). The membranes were characterized using a set of analyses and the results showed that the addition of SNDs up to 1.0 wt.% resulted in an increase in hydrophilicity, water content, porosity and water flux of membranes. Moreover, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images indicated that the membrane with 1.0 wt. % nanoparticles had more pores on the membrane surface with smaller average pore size in comparison to other membranes. Antifouling properties of the membrane was also investigated in filtration of humic acid solution and the results showed that reversible fouling and flux recovery of membranes increased at the presence of SNDs.
Mahdi Seyfollahi; Habib Etemadi; Reza Yegani; Mahyar Rabeii; Elham Shokri
Abstract
In this study, membranes were prepared by pristine and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-grafted nanodiamond (ND) embedded in cellulose acetate (CA) as matrix polymer via non-solvent induced phase separation method. The antifouling properties of the membranes were studied during filtration of ...
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In this study, membranes were prepared by pristine and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-grafted nanodiamond (ND) embedded in cellulose acetate (CA) as matrix polymer via non-solvent induced phase separation method. The antifouling properties of the membranes were studied during filtration of bovine serum albumin (BSA) solutions and the governing fouling mechanisms of the membranes were also investigated using the Hermia model. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) confirmed that ND was successfully functionalized by PEG. CA/ND-PEG nanocomposite membranes have higher hydrophilicity, porosity, water uptake, mechanical strength and a lower amount of adsorbed protein than pure CA and CA/ND membranes. Besides, the antifouling performance of the CA/ND-PEG (0.5 wt.%) nanocomposite membrane also witnessed considerable improvement, in comparison with that of pure CA and CA/ND (0.5 wt.%) membranes. The obtained results showed that the best fit to experimental data for all membranes (pure and nanocomposite membranes) corresponds to the cake layer formation model.