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

Abstract

Two types of amphiphilic nanoparticles were prepared via silanization reaction.

Amphiphilic nanoparticles tend to protrude from membrane matrix by segregation.

Blending with amphiphilic nanoparticles further enhances membrane hydrophilicity.

Excessive silanization cause adverse effect on blending efficiency.

Fig.1Membrane modification is one of the most feasible and effective solutions to membrane fouling problem which tenaciously hampered 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.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Membrane modification / Nanoparticle / Hydrophilic / Amphiphilic / Blending

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Acknowledgements

This research is financially supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. BLX2014-34) and special fund of State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (No. 15K05ESPCT). We also acknowledge the National Innovative and Entrepreneurial Training Program for Undergraduate Students (No. 201510022077).

Funding

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2016 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg