Shen Liguo, Huang Zhengyi, Liu Ying, Li Renjie, Xu Yanchao, Jakaj Gjon, Lin Hongjun
College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China.
Front Chem. 2020 Apr 8;8:224. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2020.00224. eCollection 2020.
Due to the flexibility of operation, high removal ability, and economic cost, separation membranes have proved to be one of the most significant technologies in various aspects including water treatment. However, membrane fouling is a predominant barrier which is severely limiting the whole membrane industry. To mitigate membrane fouling, researchers have carried out several modification strategies including the incorporation of hydrophilic inorganic components. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles, known as a low-cost, environment-friendly, and hydrophilic inorganic material, have been used by worldwide researchers. As claimed by the scientific literatures, ZnO nanoparticles can not only endow the polymeric membranes with antifouling performance but also supply a photocatalytic self-cleaning ability. Therefore, polymer-ZnO composite membranes were considered to be an attractive hot topic in membrane technology. In the last decades, it has been significantly matured by a large mass of literature reports. The current review highlights the latest findings in polymeric membranes incorporated with ZnO nanoparticles for membrane fouling mitigation. The membrane fouling, ZnO nanoparticles, and modification technology were introduced in the first three sections. Particularly, the review makes a summary of the reports of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-ZnO composite membranes, polyethersulfone (PES)-ZnO composite membranes, and other composite membranes incorporated with ZnO nanoparticles. This review further points out several crucial topics for the future development of polymer-ZnO composite membranes.
由于操作灵活性高、去除能力强且经济成本低，分离膜已被证明是包括水处理在内的各个方面最重要的技术之一。然而，膜污染是一个主要障碍，严重限制了整个膜行业的发展。为了减轻膜污染，研究人员开展了多种改性策略，包括引入亲水性无机成分。氧化锌（ZnO）纳米颗粒作为一种低成本、环境友好且亲水性的无机材料，已被全球研究人员所使用。正如科学文献所宣称的，ZnO纳米颗粒不仅能赋予聚合物膜抗污染性能，还能提供光催化自清洁能力。因此，聚合物-ZnO复合膜被认为是膜技术中一个有吸引力的热门话题。在过去几十年里，大量的文献报道使其得到了显著的发展。当前的综述重点介绍了在聚合物膜中引入ZnO纳米颗粒以减轻膜污染的最新研究成果。膜污染、ZnO纳米颗粒和改性技术在前三个部分进行了介绍。特别地，该综述总结了聚偏氟乙烯（PVDF）-ZnO复合膜、聚醚砜（PES）-ZnO复合膜以及其他含有ZnO纳米颗粒的复合膜的相关报道。本综述进一步指出了聚合物-ZnO复合膜未来发展的几个关键问题。
