Towards a High-Flux Separation Layer from Hexagonal Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Thin-Film Composite Membranes

Hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystals (HLLC) with uniform pore size in the range of 1~5 nm are highly sought after as promising active separation layers of thin-film composite (TFC) membranes, which have been confirmed to be efficient for water purification. The potential interaction between an amphiphile-based HLLC layer and the substrate surface, however, has not been fully explored. In this research, hydrophilic and hydrophobic microporous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) substrates were chosen, respectively, to prepare TFC membranes with the active layers templated from HLLC, consisting of dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide, water, and a mixture of poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate. The pore size of the active layer was found to decrease by about 1.6 Å compared to that of the free-standing HLLC after polymerization, but no significant difference was observable by using either hydrophilic or hydrophobic substrates (26.9 Å vs 27.1 Å). The water flux of the TFC membrane with the hydrophobic substrate, however, was higher than that with the hydrophilic one. A further investigation confirmed that the increase in water flux originated from a much higher porosity was due to the synergistic effect of the hydrophilic HLLC nanoporous material and the hydrophobic substrate.

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Interfacially polymerized thin-film composite membranes: Impact of support layer pore size on active layer polymerization and seawater desalination performance

Separation and Purification Technology ◽

10.1016/j.seppur.2018.11.047 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 212 ◽

pp. 438-448 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Jalal-Al-Din Sharabati ◽

Serkan Guclu ◽

Selda Erkoc-Ilter ◽

Derya Y. Koseoglu-Imer ◽

Serkan Unal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Pore Size ◽

Active Layer ◽

Composite Membranes ◽

Seawater Desalination ◽

Film Composite ◽

Thin Film Composite

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Impact of support layer pore size on performance of thin film composite membranes for forward osmosis

Journal of Membrane Science ◽

10.1016/j.memsci.2015.01.025 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 483 ◽

pp. 25-33 ◽

Cited By ~ 123

Author(s):

Liwei Huang ◽

Jeffrey R. McCutcheon

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Pore Size ◽

Forward Osmosis ◽

Composite Membranes ◽

Film Composite ◽

Thin Film Composite

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Novel thin-film composite membranes with improved water flux from sulfonated cardo poly(arylene ether sulfone) bearing pendant amino groups

Journal of Membrane Science ◽

10.1016/j.memsci.2007.10.039 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 310 (1-2) ◽

pp. 102-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 71

Author(s):

Guang Chen ◽

Shenghai Li ◽

Xiaosa Zhang ◽

Suobo Zhang

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Water Flux ◽

Composite Membranes ◽

Amino Groups ◽

Film Composite ◽

Thin Film Composite ◽

Arylene Ether

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Reducing the Pore Size of Covalent Organic Frameworks in Thin-Film Composite Membranes Enhances Solute Rejection

10.26434/chemrxiv.8870693 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Amanda Corcos ◽

Gabrielle Levato ◽

Zhiwei Jiang ◽

Austin Evans ◽

Andrew Livingston ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Pore Size ◽

Organic Pollutant ◽

Composite Membranes ◽

Systematic Difference ◽

Film Composite ◽

Thin Film Composite ◽

Active Layers ◽

Rhodamine Wt ◽

Effective Pore Size

Three imine-linked covalent organic framework (COF) films are incorporated as active layers into separate thin-film composite (TFC) membranes and tested for their ability to reject an organic pollutant surrogate and salt from water. The synthesized membranes consist of a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membrane supporting a TAPB-PDA-H, TAPB-PDA-Me, or TAPB-PDA-Et COF thin film. The latter two COFs direct six methyl and ethyl substituents per tiled hexagon into the pores, respectively, while maintaining the same topology across the series. These substituents decrease the effective pore size of the COF compared to the parent TAPB-PDA-H COF. The TAPB-PDA-Me membrane rejects Rhodamine-WT (R-WT) dye and NaCl better than the TAPB-PDA-H membrane, and the TAPB-PDA-Et membrane exhibits the best rejection overall. The solution-diffusion model used to analyze this permeation behavior indicates that there is a systematic difference in rejection as subsequent pendant groups are added to the interior of the COF pore. These findings demonstrate the concept of tuning the selectivity of COF membranes by systematically reducing the effective pore size within a given topology.

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Optimization of Aquaporin Loading for Performance Enhancement of Aquaporin-Based Biomimetic Thin-Film Composite Membranes

Membranes ◽

10.3390/membranes12010032 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 32

Author(s):

Yang Zhao ◽

Xuesong Li ◽

Jing Wei ◽

Jaume Torres ◽

Anthony G. Fane ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Water Flux ◽

Composite Membranes ◽

Separation Performance ◽

Scale Production ◽

Film Composite ◽

Salt Rejection ◽

Thin Film Composite ◽

Lipid Ratio ◽

Wide Range

The aquaporin-based biomimetic thin-film composite membrane (ABM-TFC) has demonstrated superior separation performance and achieved successful commercialization. The larger-scale production of the ABM membrane requires an appropriate balance between the performance and manufacturing cost. This study has systematically investigated the effects of proteoliposome concentration, protein-to-lipid ratio, as well as the additive on the separation performance of ABM for the purpose of finding the optimal preparation conditions for the ABM from the perspective of industrial production. Although increasing the proteoliposome concentration or protein-to-lipid ratio within a certain range could significantly enhance the water permeability of ABMs by increasing the loading of aquaporins in the selective layer, the enhancement effect was marginal or even compromised beyond an optimal point. Alternatively, adding cholesterol in the proteoliposome could further enhance the water flux of the ABM membrane, with minor effects on the salt rejection. The optimized ABM not only achieved a nearly doubled water flux with unchanged salt rejection compared to the control, but also demonstrated satisfactory filtration stability within a wide range of operation temperatures. This study provides a practical strategy for the optimization of ABM-TFC membranes to fit within the scheme of industrial-scale production.

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Reducing the Pore Size of Covalent Organic Frameworks in Thin-Film Composite Membranes Enhances Solute Rejection

ACS Materials Letters ◽

10.1021/acsmaterialslett.9b00272 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 1 (4) ◽

pp. 440-446 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Amanda R. Corcos ◽

Gabrielle A. Levato ◽

Zhiwei Jiang ◽

Austin M. Evans ◽

Andrew G. Livingston ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Pore Size ◽

Composite Membranes ◽

Covalent Organic Frameworks ◽

Film Composite ◽

Thin Film Composite

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Reducing the Pore Size of Covalent Organic Frameworks in Thin-Film Composite Membranes Enhances Solute Rejection

10.26434/chemrxiv.8870693.v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Amanda Corcos ◽

Gabrielle Levato ◽

Zhiwei Jiang ◽

Austin Evans ◽

Andrew Livingston ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Pore Size ◽

Organic Pollutant ◽

Composite Membranes ◽

Systematic Difference ◽

Film Composite ◽

Thin Film Composite ◽

Active Layers ◽

Rhodamine Wt ◽

Effective Pore Size

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Preparation of thin-film composite membranes supported with electrospun nanofibers for desalination by forward osmosis

Drinking Water Engineering and Science ◽

10.5194/dwes-13-51-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 51-57

Author(s):

Mustafa Al-Furaiji ◽

Mohammed Kadhom ◽

Khairi Kalash ◽

Basma Waisi ◽

Noor Albayati

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Water Flux ◽

Applied Pressure ◽

Forward Osmosis ◽

Composite Membranes ◽

Polymerization Reaction ◽

Film Composite ◽

Salt Rejection ◽

Thin Film Composite ◽

Tfc Membrane

Abstract. The forward osmosis (FO) process has been considered to be a viable option for water desalination in comparison to the traditional processes like reverse osmosis, regarding energy consumption and economical operation. In this work, a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber support layer was prepared using the electrospinning process as a modern method. Then, an interfacial polymerization reaction between m-phenylenediamine (MPD) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) was carried out to generate a polyamide selective thin-film composite (TFC) membrane on the support layer. The TFC membrane was tested in FO mode (feed solution facing the active layer) using the standard methodology and compared to a commercially available cellulose triacetate membrane (CTA). The synthesized membrane showed a high performance in terms of water flux (16 Lm −2 h−1) but traded the salt rejection (4 gm−2 h−1) compared with the commercial CTA membrane (water flux = 13 Lm−2 h−1 and salt rejection = 3 gm−2 h−1) at no applied pressure and room temperature. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle, mechanical properties, porosity, and performance characterizations were conducted to examine the membrane.

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