Marianito Tiangson Margarito1,2, Arnel Bas Beltran1,3, Aileen Huelgas-Orbecido1,3. 1. Department of Chemical Engineering, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, Manila 1004, Philippines. 2. Materials Science Division, Industrial Technology Development Institute, Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Taguig 1631, Philippines. 3. Center for Engineering and Sustainable Development Research, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, Manila 1004, Philippines.
Abstract
This study aims to integrate copper (Cu) during membrane formation by a facile simultaneous phase separation process to alleviate biofouling and improve membrane performance. Polythiourea (PTU) polymer synthesized through condensation polymerization of 4,4-oxydianiline and p-phenylene diisothiocyanate in dimethyl sulfoxide was used in the preparation of dope solution. By incorporating different concentrations of cupric acetate in the non-solvent bath, both non-solvent induced phase separation and complexation induced phase separation occur instantaneously. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray, fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy analysis accompanied by color change of the membrane surfaces-confirms the interaction of the polymer with Cu. Interaction of Cu at the interface during membrane formation results in a decrease in contact angle from 2 to 10° and a decrease in surface roughness from 30% to 52% as measured by atomic force microscope analysis. Pure water flux of PTU-Cu membrane increased by a factor of 3 to 17 relative to pristine PTU membrane. Both the pristine PTU and PTU-Cu membrane showed antibacterial characteristics against E. coli.
This study aims to integrate copper (n class="Chemical">Cu) during membrane formation by a facile simultaneous phase separation process to alleviate biofouling and improve membrane performance. Polythiourea (PTU) polymer synthesized through condensation polymerization of 4,4-oxydianiline and p-phenylene diisothiocyanate in dimethyl sulfoxide was used in the preparation of dope solution. By incorporating different concentrations of cupric acetate in the non-solvent bath, both non-solvent induced phase separation and complexation induced phase separation occur instantaneously. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray, fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy analysis accompanied by color change of the membrane surfaces-confirms the interaction of the polymer with Cu. Interaction of Cu at the interface during membrane formation results in a decrease in contact angle from 2 to 10° and a decrease in surface roughness from 30% to 52% as measured by atomic force microscope analysis. Pure water flux of PTU-Cu membrane increased by a factor of 3 to 17 relative to pristine PTU membrane. Both the pristine PTU and PTU-Cu membrane showed antibacterial characteristics against E. coli.
Entities:
Keywords:
composite membrane; macro-molecule metal complex; phase separation; polythiourea
Authors: Qi Tang; Kang Wang; Xiaoming Ren; Qunchao Zhang; Weiwei Lei; Tao Jiang; Dean Shi Journal: Sci Total Environ Date: 2020-02-04 Impact factor: 7.963