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Advanced Modification of Membrane Materials

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Thin Films and Interfaces".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2022) | Viewed by 6685

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
1. Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, St. Petersburg State University, 7/9 Universitetskaya nab., 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
2. Institute of Physical Organic Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 13 Surganov Str., 220072 Minsk, Belarus
Interests: polymer membranes; ultrafltration; pervaporation; gas separation; membrane contactors; thin film composite membranes; interfacial polymerization; water treatment; dehydration; nanocomposite membranes; hollow fiber membranes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
A.V. Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences, Lenynsky prospect 29, Moscow 119991, Russia
Interests: polymeric materials; polysiloxanes; polysulfone; highly permeable glassy polymers; membrane formation; vacuum pervaporation; thermopervaporation; recovery of alcohols from fermentation broth; gas separation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Membrane technology is playing an increasingly important role in modern life and in global sustainable development. Membrane processes are considered to be “green” due to their energy efficiency, reagent-free operation, low labor inputs, and the compactness of membrane plants. The properties of membrane materials determine the efficiency and cost of the separation process and affect the purity of the product and the cost of separation. Although progress in the membrane fields has to date been quite significant, however, commercialized membranes still feature certain drawbacks. There is a need, for example, to improve membrane selectivity, permeability, operational stability, chemical and mechanical resistance, and antifouling performance and to tailor additional functions to membranes, for instance, blood compatibility and responsiveness to external stimuli (pH, temperature, ionic strength, etc.). This Special Issue of Materials focuses on novel techniques of membrane modification to improve membrane properties and separation performance. The main approaches to membrane modification include bulk modification, surface modification, and chemical modification of membrane material. Both original research articles and reviews are welcome.

Dr. Tatiana V. Plisko
Dr. Ilya L. Borisov
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • surface membrane modification
  • bulk membrane modification
  • thin film composite membrane
  • nanocomposite membranes
  • coating
  • grafting
  • deposition
  • blending
  • immobilization
  • plasma treatment
  • layer-by-layer coating
  • hydrophilization
  • hydrophobization
  • stimuli-responsive membranes
  • interfacial polymerization

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2444 KiB  
Article
High-Performance pH Sensor Electrodes Based on a Hexagonal Pt Nanoparticle Array-Coated Nanoporous Alumina Membrane
by Abeer S. Altowyan, Mohamed Shaban, Asmaa Gamel, Ahmed Gamal, Mona Ali and Mohamed Rabia
Materials 2022, 15(19), 6515; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15196515 - 20 Sep 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1267
Abstract
Porous anodic alumina membranes coated with Pt nanoparticles (PAAM/Pt) have been employed as pH sensor electrodes for H+ ion detection. The PAAM was designed using a two-step anodization process. Pt nanoparticles were then sputtered onto the membrane at different deposition times. The [...] Read more.
Porous anodic alumina membranes coated with Pt nanoparticles (PAAM/Pt) have been employed as pH sensor electrodes for H+ ion detection. The PAAM was designed using a two-step anodization process. Pt nanoparticles were then sputtered onto the membrane at different deposition times. The membrane’s morphological, chemical, and optical characteristics were carefully assessed following the fabrication stage using a variety of analytical techniques. The potential of the PAAM/Pt sensor electrode was investigated by measuring the potential using a simple potentiometric method. The effects of depositing Pt nanoparticles for 3–7 min on sensor electrode sensitivity were examined. The optimal potentiometric Nernstian response slope for the PAAM/Pt sensor electrode with 5 min Pt sputter coating is 56.31 mV/decade in the pH range of 3.0 to 10 at 293 K. Additionally, the PAAM/Pt sensor electrode’s stability and selectivity in various ions solutions were examined. The sensor electrode had a lifetime of more than six weeks and was kept in a normal air environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Modification of Membrane Materials)
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23 pages, 10169 KiB  
Article
Development of Antifouling Polysulfone Membranes by Synergistic Modification with Two Different Additives in Casting Solution and Coagulation Bath: Synperonic F108 and Polyacrylic Acid
by Katsiaryna S. Burts, Tatiana V. Plisko, Mikael Sjölin, Goncalo Rodrigues, Alexandr V. Bildyukevich, Frank Lipnizki and Mathias Ulbricht
Materials 2022, 15(1), 359; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15010359 - 4 Jan 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 1937
Abstract
This study deals with the development of antifouling ultrafiltration membranes based on polysulfone (PSF) for wastewater treatment and the concentration and purification of hemicellulose and lignin in the pulp and paper industry. The efficient simple and reproducible technique of PSF membrane modification to [...] Read more.
This study deals with the development of antifouling ultrafiltration membranes based on polysulfone (PSF) for wastewater treatment and the concentration and purification of hemicellulose and lignin in the pulp and paper industry. The efficient simple and reproducible technique of PSF membrane modification to increase antifouling performance by simultaneous addition of triblock copolymer polyethylene glycol-polypropylene glycol-polyethylene glycol (Synperonic F108, Mn =14 × 103 g mol−1) to the casting solution and addition of polyacrylic acid (PAA, Mn = 250 × 103 g mol−1) to the coagulation bath is proposed for the first time. The effect of the PAA concentration in the aqueous solution on the PSF/Synperonic F108 membrane structure, surface characteristics, performance, and antifouling stability was investigated. PAA concentrations were varied from 0.35 to 2.0 wt.%. Membrane composition, structure, and topology were investigated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The addition of PAA into the coagulation bath was revealed to cause the formation of a thicker and denser selective layer with decreasing its pore size and porosity; according to the structural characterization, an interpolymer complex of the two additives was formed on the surface of the PSF membrane. Hydrophilicity of the membrane selective layer surface was shown to increase significantly. The selective layer surface charge was found to become more negative in comparison to the reference membrane. It was shown that PSF/Synperonic F108/PAA membranes are characterized by better antifouling performance in ultrafiltration of humic acid solution and thermomechanical pulp mill (ThMP) process water. Membrane modification with PAA results in higher ThMP process water flux, fouling recovery ratio, and hemicellulose and total lignin rejection compared to the reference PSF/Synperonic F108 membrane. This suggests the possibility of applying the developed membranes for hemicellulose concentration and purification. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Modification of Membrane Materials)
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19 pages, 35715 KiB  
Article
Effect of Polyphenylsulfone and Polysulfone Incompatibility on the Structure and Performance of Blend Membranes for Ultrafiltration
by Tatiana Plisko, Yana Karslyan and Alexandr Bildyukevich
Materials 2021, 14(19), 5740; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14195740 - 1 Oct 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2285
Abstract
This study deals with the modification of polyphenylsulfone ultrafiltration membranes by introduction of an incompatible polymer polysulfone to the polyphenylsulfone casting solution to improve the permeability. The correlation between properties of the blend polyphenylsulfone/polysulfone solutions and porous anisotropic membranes for ultrafiltration prepared from [...] Read more.
This study deals with the modification of polyphenylsulfone ultrafiltration membranes by introduction of an incompatible polymer polysulfone to the polyphenylsulfone casting solution to improve the permeability. The correlation between properties of the blend polyphenylsulfone/polysulfone solutions and porous anisotropic membranes for ultrafiltration prepared from these solutions was revealed. The blend polyphenylsulfone/polysulfone solutions were investigated using a turbidity spectrum method, optical microscopy and measurements of dynamic viscosity and turbidity. The structure of the prepared blend flat sheet membranes was studied using scanning electron microscopy. Membrane separation performance was investigated in the process of ultrafiltration of human serum albumin buffered solutions. It was found that with the introduction of polysulfone to the polyphenylsulfone casting solution in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone the size of supramolecular particles significantly increases with the maximum at (40–60):(60:40) polyphenylsulfone:polysulfone blend ratio from 76 nm to 196–354 nm. It was shown that polyphenylsulfone/polysulfone blend solutions, unlike the solutions of pristine polymers, are two-phase systems (emulsions) with the maximum droplet size and highest degree of polydispersity at polyphenylsulfone/polysulfone blend ratios (30–60):(70–40). Pure water flux of the blend membranes passes through a maximum in the region of the most heterogeneous structure of the casting solution, which is associated with the imposition of a polymer-polymer phase separation on the non-solvent induced phase separation upon membrane preparation. The application of polyphenylsulfone/polysulfone blends as membrane-forming polymers and polyethylene glycol (Mn = 400 g·mol−1) as a pore-forming agent to the casting solutions yields the formation of ultrafiltration membranes with high membrane pure water flux (270 L·m−2·h−1 at 0.1MPa) and human serum albumin rejection of 85%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Modification of Membrane Materials)
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13 pages, 1841 KiB  
Article
Influence of Spin Coating Parameters on Gas Transport Properties of Thin-Film Composite Membranes
by Stepan Sokolov, Alexey Balynin, Danila Bakhtin and Ilya Borisov
Materials 2021, 14(17), 5093; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14175093 - 6 Sep 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2083
Abstract
The influence of casting centrifugation process parameters, such as a rotation speed (ω), the amount of the film-forming solution (V), and its concentration (C) on transport properties of composite membranes were investigated. A number of composite membranes based on poly (1-trimethylsilylpropyne) (PTMSP) and [...] Read more.
The influence of casting centrifugation process parameters, such as a rotation speed (ω), the amount of the film-forming solution (V), and its concentration (C) on transport properties of composite membranes were investigated. A number of composite membranes based on poly (1-trimethylsilylpropyne) (PTMSP) and micro- (MFFK-1) and ultrafiltration (UFFK) membranes were obtained using the spin-coating method. For the first time, an unexpected dependence of permeance and ideal selectivity on rotation speed had been discovered: the thickness of the selective layer decreases from 3.0 to 1.0 μm for MFFK-1 and from 1.7 to 1.1 μm for UFFK with an increase of spin coater rotation speed from 500 to 3000 rpm. However, the gas permeance of composite membranes in the range of 500–2000 rpm was reduced due to an increase of a penetration depth of PTMSP into a support layer porous structure (estimated by the EDX method). The permeance of the PTMSP/UFFK membranes was higher than PTMSP/MFFK-1 membranes due to a thinner selective layer and a lower penetration depth of polymer solution into the pores of the support. The highest CO2/N2 selectivity values were achieved as 5.65 ± 0.9 at CO2 permeance 5600 ± 1000 GPU for PTMSP/UFFK membranes (CPTMSP = 0.35%, Vsolution = 1 mL, ω = 1000 rpm), and 6.1 ± 0.5 at CO2 permeance 4090 ± 500 GPU for PTMSP/MFFK-1 membranes (CPTMSP = 0.35%, Vsolution = 1 mL, ω = 2000 rpm). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Modification of Membrane Materials)
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