Preparation of positively charged composite nanofiltration membranes by quaternization crosslinking for precise molecular and ionic separations.

Developing nanofiltration (NF) membranes with highly efficient and precise separation ability is of great significance for the molecular and ionic separations. In this work, positively charged composite NF membranes were engineered via soaking of polysulfone (PSF) ultrafiltration membranes in poly(N-vinyl imidazole) (PVI) solutions followed by a quaternization crosslinking step. The PVI was firmly attached to the PSF membrane by this method and acted as an active separation layer of the composite NF membrane. The obtained composite NF membrane featured a high rejection (83%) to vitamin B12 (molecular radius: 0.74 nm) but a low rejection (24.6%) to vitamin B2 (molecular radius: 0.47 nm), exhibiting a great potential in precisely molecular separation. Furthermore, the ionic separation ability of the composite NF membrane was confirmed with a rejection order of Na2SO4 < MgSO4 < NaCl < MgCl2 and the MgCl2 rejection reached up to 90.1%. Compared to conventional polyamide NF membranes, the developed PVI/PSF composite NF membranes were characterized with high separation precision to organic molecules, higher rejection over cationic ions than over anionic ones, better chlorine resistance and stability in long-term operation. In addition, the membrane fabrication process is convenient and easily scaled up in industry. This work offers a novel alternative of NF membranes for high precision in molecular and ionic separations.