Hydrophilization of porous polypropylene membranes by atomic layer deposition of TiO2 for simultaneously improved permeability and selectivity

Study on the fouling behavior of silica nanocomposite modified polypropylene membrane in purification of collagen protein

“…Regarding this method, there are successful reports (Xu et al, 2013;Wang, 2013, 2014). Zhang and Wang (2014) fabricated hydrophobic organic-inorganic composite hollow fiber membrane by incorporating the fluorinated silica (fSiO 2 ) inorganic layer on the polyetherimide (PEI) organic substrate using sol-gel method.…”

“…PP is superior to many other polymers in terms of mechanical strength, chemical stability, thermal and chemical resistance and low cost. Therefore, PP is a very promising material for separating membranes (Xu et al, 2013;Yu et al, 2007;Hu et al, 2006). However, PP is a hydrophobic material since it lacks any polar functional group and consequently PP membranes can be easily fouled and cause a series of problems in practical application.…”

“…However, PP is a hydrophobic material since it lacks any polar functional group and consequently PP membranes can be easily fouled and cause a series of problems in practical application. Hence, lots of efforts have been devoted to enhance the hydrophilicity of the polymeric membranes (Zhu et al, 2013;Xu et al, 2013;Yu et al, 2005;Song et al, 2014;Yan et al, 2008).…”

“…The incorporation of the fSiO 2 inorganic layer not only offered high hydrophobicity that is beneficial in membrane contactors, but also protected the polymeric substrate from the attacks of chemical absorbents, giving the longer lifespan for membrane. To improve the separation performances of polypropylene membranes, Xu et al (2013) deposited TiO 2 on the membrane pore surface using the atomic layer deposition strategy with and without a plasma pretreatment step on the membrane. The TiO 2 -deposited membranes showed improved anti-fouling property compared to the unmodified membranes due to enhanced hydrophilicity.…”

Experimental investigation of the transport mechanism of several gases during the CVD post-treatment of nanoporous membranes

“…In recent years, the potential of ALD technology for modifying the surface and porous structure of polymeric and ceramic membranes has been investigated by several research groups [65][66][67][68][69][70]. Pore size reduction and surface species affect gas transport through microscopic pores Xu et al [64] manufactured Al 2 O 3 -deposited PTFE membranes by applying ALD processes and reported improved hydrophilicity of the prepared membranes that facilitated water permeation through the membrane, giving higher water flux.…”