Investigation of characteristic and performance of polyvinyl chloride ultrafiltration membranes modified with silica‐oriented multi walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract

The complicated and dynamic nature of membrane fouling is one of the most challenging issues that need to be addressed to obtain an efficient membrane. In this work, silica‐oriented multiwalled carbon nanotubes (Si‐MWCNTs) are synthesized by the sol–gel method and characterized using several analytical techniques. Novel polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ultrafiltration membranes are fabricated by incorporation of Si‐MWCNT nanoparticles at varying loading levels (0–2 wt%) using the phase inversion method. Membrane morphology, chemical composition, thermal behavior, crystallinity, roughness, hydrophilicity, and mechanical strength are characterized and filtration performance is tested to compare the results with those of pristine PVC membranes. The results reveal that the addition of 0.5% Si‐MWCNT nanoparticles into the casting solution exhibits the highest flux (400 L/m2h), sodium alginate (SA) rejection rate (96%), and flux recovery ratio (93%) due to having the highest hydrophilicity, an improved structure, and surface properties revealed by surface morphology and bulk property analysis. Furthermore, the results of dynamic mechanical and nanoindentation analyses confirm that mechanical properties such as hardness, Young's modulus, and stiffness of the pristine membrane are significantly improved by the addition of Si‐MWCNT nanoparticles.

Modification of PVDF Membranes Using Dopamine/Zinc Oxide for Lead Removal from Aqueous Media

“…To assess the anti-fouling properties, a membrane sample was subjected to SA solution for 4 hours, washed with DI water and the flux was measured again. The anti-fouling property was interpreted in terms of flux recovery ratio (FRR), which was calculated using the equation below [36].…”

“…During SA filtration, foulant molecules are adsorbed on the surface and inside fingerlike pores of the membrane structure that in turn leads to a flux decline. To understand the fouling resistances of the membranes, the resistance-in-series model was used [17,36].…”

Improvement of filtration performance of polyvinyl chloride/cellulose acetate blend membrane via acid hydrolysis

“…The hydrophilic modification of PVC membrane mainly focuses on surface modification and blending modification 7 . The common surface modification methods include surface chemical treatment, plasma treatment, UV radiation, high‐energy radiation, and so forth 8–11 . The surface treatment will inevitably damage the structure and strength of the membrane, and it is difficult to realize large‐scale industrial production.…”

“…7 The common surface modification methods include surface chemical treatment, plasma treatment, UV radiation, high-energy radiation, and so forth. [8][9][10][11] The surface treatment will inevitably damage the structure and strength of the membrane, and it is difficult to realize large-scale industrial production. At present, blending method is often used for hydrophilic modification of PVC membrane, and additives with strong hydrophilicity are usually used, but the reported additives have poor biocompatibility and are often nonbiodegradable.…”

Electrical conductivity of interphase zone in polymer nanocomposites by carbon nanotubes properties and interphase depth

“…Polymer nanocomposites encompassing conductive fillers such as carbon nanotubes (CNT) can support the requests in electronics, sensors, and shielding 1–23 . The nanocomposite's conductivity needs the conductive networks for charge conveyance established at or above the percolation onset.…”