Effect of adding a smart potassium ion-responsive copolymer into polysulfone support membrane on the performance of thin-film composite nanofiltration membrane

Abstract

Thin-film composite (TFC) nanofiltration (NF) membranes were fabricated via the interfacial polymerization of piperazine (PIP) and 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyl trichloride on polysulfone (PSf) support membranes blended with K⁺-responsive poly(N-isopropylacryamide-co-acryloylamidobenzo-15-crown-5) (P(NIPAM-co-AAB₁₅C₅)). Membranes were characterized by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscope, scanning electron microscope, contact angle, and filtration tests. The results showed that: (1) Under K⁺-free conditions, the blended P(NIPAM-co-AAB₁₅C₅)/PSf supports had porous and hydrophilic surfaces, thereby producing NF membranes with smooth surfaces and low MgSO₄ rejections; (2) With K⁺ in the PIP solution, the surface roughness and water permeability of the resultant NF membrane were increased due to the K⁺-induced transition of low-content P(NIPAM-co-AAB₁₅C₅) from hydrophilic to hydrophobic; (3) After a curing treatment at 95 °C, the improved NF membrane achieved an even higher pure water permeability of 10.97 L·m⁻²·h⁻¹·bar⁻¹ under 200 psi. Overall, this study provides a novel method to improve the performance of NF membranes and helps understand the influence of supports on TFC membranes.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

nanofiltration / interfacial polymerization / support membrane / potassium ion-responsive / thin-film composite

References

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51678377), Sichuan University Outstanding Youth Foundation (2015SCU04A35), Applied Basic Research of Sichuan Province (2017JY0238) and Key Projects in the Science & Technology Program of Hainan Province (zdkj2016022). This research was also supported by the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, Hightower Chair, and the Georgia Research Alliance at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The views and ideas expressed herein are solely of the authors and do not represent the ideas of the funding agencies in any form.

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