Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering , Tufts University , 4 Colby Street , Medford , Massachusetts 02155 , United States.
Department of Polymer Science and Technology , Middle East Technical University , 06800 Ankara , Turkey.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2018 May 30;10(21):18300-18309. doi: 10.1021/acsami.8b03268. Epub 2018 May 15.
A porous material that is both hydrophobic and fouling-resistant is needed in many applications, such as water purification by membrane distillation. In this work, we take a novel approach to fabricating such membranes. Using the zwitterionic amphiphilic copolymer poly(trifluoroethyl methacrylate- random-sulfobetaine methacrylate), we electrospin nonwoven, porous membranes that combine high hydrophobicity with resistance to protein adsorption. By changing the electrospinning parameters and the solution composition, membranes can be prepared with a wide range of fiber morphologies including beaded, bead-free, wrinkly, and ribbonlike fibers, with diameters ranging between ∼150 nm and 1.5 μm. The addition of LiCl to the spinning solution not only helps control the fiber morphology but also increases the segregation of zwitterionic groups on the membrane surface. The resultant electrospun membranes are highly porous and very hydrophobic, yet resist the adsorption of proteins and retain a high contact angle (∼140°) even after exposure to a protein solution. This makes these materials promising candidates for the membrane distillation of contaminated wastewater streams and as self-cleaning materials.
在许多应用中，例如通过膜蒸馏进行水净化，都需要一种既疏水又抗污染的多孔材料。在这项工作中，我们采用了一种制造这种膜的新方法。使用两性离子两亲嵌段共聚物聚（三氟乙基甲基丙烯酸酯-随机磺酸甜菜碱甲基丙烯酸酯），我们通过静电纺丝制备了非织造、多孔膜，将高疏水性与抗蛋白质吸附结合在一起。通过改变静电纺丝参数和溶液组成，可以制备具有广泛纤维形态的膜，包括珠状、无珠状、皱纹状和带状纤维，直径在 150nm 到 1.5μm 之间。在纺丝溶液中添加 LiCl 不仅有助于控制纤维形态，而且还增加了膜表面两性离子基团的相分离。所得的静电纺丝膜具有很高的多孔性和非常疏水的特性，但能抵抗蛋白质的吸附，并且即使在暴露于蛋白质溶液后仍保持高接触角（约 140°）。这使得这些材料成为有前景的候选材料，可用于处理受污染废水的膜蒸馏以及作为自清洁材料。
