New Preparation Methods for Pore Formation on Polysulfone Membranes

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Membrane Technology

Background:

• Aromatic polysulfones are widely used in membrane fabrication.
• The phase-inversion method is a common technique for membrane preparation.
• Developing efficient pore creation methods is crucial for enhancing membrane performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prepare novel aromatic polysulfone membranes with controlled pore structures.
• To investigate new methods for pore creation on membranes.
• To evaluate the separation performance of the developed membranes for water treatment.

Main Methods:

• Membrane preparation via non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS).
• Development of three novel pore creation techniques: nano iron acid etching, base hydrolysis of crosslinked polymers, and base hydrolysis of a reactive component in a binary polymer blend.
• Characterization of modified polymers and membranes.
• Separation performance testing with inorganic salt solutions.

Main Results:

• Uniform pores were successfully created by base hydrolysis of crosslinked polymers.
• Homogeneous pores were formed after base hydrolysis of membranes from binary polymer blends.
• The new membranes exhibited high water flux (up to 3000 L/m²·h⁻¹ at 10 bar).
• Reasonable rejections for monovalent (21-44%) and multivalent ions (18-60%) were achieved.

Conclusions:

• The developed base hydrolysis methods are effective for creating uniform and homogeneous pores in polysulfone membranes.
• These novel membranes demonstrate promising separation performance for water treatment applications.
• The membranes offer a high potential for efficient water purification due to their high flux and ion rejection capabilities.