Khorshidi Behnam, Thundat Thomas, Fleck Brian A, Sadrzadeh Mohtada
Department of Mechanical Engineering, 10-367 Donadeo Innovation Center for Engineering, Advanced Water Research Lab (AWRL), University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 1H9.
Department of Chemical &Materials Engineering, 13-287 Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 1H9.
Sci Rep. 2016 Feb 29;6:22069. doi: 10.1038/srep22069.
A practical method is reported to enhance water permeability of thin film composite (TFC) polyamide (PA) membranes by decreasing the thickness of the selective PA layer. The composite membranes were prepared by interfacial polymerization (IP) reaction between meta-phenylene diamine (MPD)-aqueous and trimesoyl chloride (TMC)-organic solvents at the surface of polyethersulfone (PES) microporous support. Several PA TFC membranes were prepared at different temperatures of the organic solution ranging from -20 °C to 50 °C. The physico-chemical and morphological properties of the synthesized membranes were carefully characterized using serval analytical techniques. The results confirmed that the TFC membranes, synthesized at sub-zero temperatures of organic solution, had thinner and smoother PA layer with a greater degree of cross-linking and wettability compared to the PA films prepared at 50 °C. We demonstrated that reducing the temperature of organic solution effectively decreased the thickness of the PA active layer and thus enhanced water permeation through the membranes. The most water permeable membrane was prepared at -20 °C and exhibited nine times higher water flux compared to the membrane synthesized at room temperature. The method proposed in this report can be effectively applied for energy- and cost-efficient development of high performance nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes.
据报道，一种实用方法是通过减小选择性聚酰胺（PA）层的厚度来提高薄膜复合（TFC）聚酰胺（PA）膜的水渗透性。复合膜是通过间苯二胺（MPD）水溶液与均苯三甲酰氯（TMC）有机溶剂在聚醚砜（PES）微孔支撑体表面进行界面聚合（IP）反应制备的。在-20°C至50°C的不同有机溶液温度下制备了几种PA TFC膜。使用多种分析技术仔细表征了合成膜的物理化学和形态学性质。结果证实，与在50°C制备的PA膜相比，在有机溶液的零下温度下合成的TFC膜具有更薄、更光滑的PA层，交联度和润湿性更高。我们证明，降低有机溶液的温度有效地降低了PA活性层的厚度，从而提高了水通过膜的渗透率。最具透水性的膜是在-20°C制备的，与在室温下合成的膜相比，其水通量高九倍。本报告中提出的方法可有效地应用于高性能纳滤和反渗透膜的节能和低成本开发。
