Understanding the role of substrates on thin film composite membranes: A green solvent approach with TamiSolve® NxG

Solvent-Resistant UV-Cured Polysulfone Support Membranes Using a Green Solvent

“…Polymeric membranes are widely used due to their good processability and low cost [9,10]. PSf is a commercial polymer with excellent thermal and mechanical properties and is, therefore, used in a wide scope of membrane applications [11,12]. Common solvents for PSf and other commercial polymers are N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) [12].…”

“…PSf is a commercial polymer with excellent thermal and mechanical properties and is, therefore, used in a wide scope of membrane applications [11,12]. Common solvents for PSf and other commercial polymers are N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) [12]. However, these solvents are harmful and toxic and may cause serious long-term problems for human health and the environment [12,13].…”

“…Common solvents for PSf and other commercial polymers are N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) [12]. However, these solvents are harmful and toxic and may cause serious long-term problems for human health and the environment [12,13]. The Green Chemistry principles encourage the substitution of harmful compounds with safer ones; therefore, Tamisolve ® NxG was used in this study as an alternative, nonreprotoxic, and biodegradable solvent [13].…”

“…The Green Chemistry principles encourage the substitution of harmful compounds with safer ones; therefore, Tamisolve ® NxG was used in this study as an alternative, nonreprotoxic, and biodegradable solvent [13]. Tamisolve ® NxG is a high-boiling, dipolar aprotic solvent with similar solubility parameters to those of DMF and NMP, which make it an eco-friendly alternative solvent for membrane synthesis [12,13]. The membrane synthesis of polymeric membranes often occurs through non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) in which the cast polymer film is immersed in a non-solvent bath where the casting solution demixes and the polymer precipitates [11,[14][15][16][17][18].…”

“…The membrane synthesis of polymeric membranes often occurs through non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) in which the cast polymer film is immersed in a non-solvent bath where the casting solution demixes and the polymer precipitates [11,[14][15][16][17][18]. Although PSf possesses favorable properties such as good mechanical properties and thermal stability, it remains soluble in many aprotic solvents, which limits its use in solvent-based applications [12,13,19,20]. Not only during its actual application but also during membrane cleaning or during synthesis of more selective membrane layers when used as support, the chemical stability of the material is crucial [20].…”