Solution Blown Nylon 6 Nanofibrous Membrane as Scaffold for Nanofiltration

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Membrane Technology
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Nanofibrous membranes are crucial for advanced separation processes.
• Developing robust and efficient scaffolds is key for high-performance nanofiltration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prepare and characterize hot-pressed nylon 6 nanofibrous membranes (HNM) as scaffolds for nanofiltration.
• To investigate the effect of hot-pressing parameters and areal density on HNM properties.
• To evaluate the performance of nanofiltration membranes fabricated on HNM scaffolds.

Main Methods:

• Solution blowing technology for nylon 6 nanofiber preparation.
• Hot-pressing to form the nanofibrous membrane scaffold.
• Interfacial polymerization to create a polyamide active layer.
• Characterization of membrane structure, surface properties, and filtration performance.

Main Results:

• Optimized hot-pressing (180 °C, 15 MPa, 10 s) yielded uniform nylon 6 nanofibers.
• HNMs with areal densities of 9.4 and 14.1 g/m² exhibited improved structure, reduced pore size, and enhanced strength.
• Nanofiltration membranes on optimized HNMs showed smoother surfaces and superior performance.
• Pure water flux reached 13.1 L m⁻² h⁻¹, with NaCl and Na₂SO₄ rejection rates of 81.3% and 85.1%.

Conclusions:

• Hot-pressed nylon 6 nanofibrous membranes serve as effective scaffolds for nanofiltration.
• Areal density significantly influences scaffold properties and subsequent membrane performance.
• The developed nanofiltration membranes demonstrate promising potential for water treatment applications.