Advances in Polymeric Membranes
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 April 2020) | Viewed by 67306
Special Issue Editor
Interests: developing and/or improving polymeric membrane materials for water treatment and water reuse applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
A membrane is a partition or a barrier between two phases, and on the application of a driving force, it separates the phases. Porous membranes act as a boundary between two phases, whereas non-porous membranes allow the controlled and selective transfer of one species from one phase to another phase. Porous membranes have the ability to remove materials by a sieving mechanism according to the size of the membrane pores and the size of the matter to be removed. On the other hand, non-porous membranes separate molecules as a result of the difference between solubility or diffusivity.
Various inorganic and polymeric materials are used to prepare membranes. This Special Issue will focus on the discussion of polymeric materials. Membranes are prepared using a variety of materials, such as cellulose acetate (CA), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDA), cellulose diacetate (CDA), cellulose triacetate (CTA), polyethersulfone, polyetherurea, polyamide (PA), polyetheramines, and polypropylene. Membrane properties—such as surface charge and hydrophobicity—and process parameters depend on the polymer material used. For example, the electrokinetic potential, also known as the zeta potential, reflects the electric charge acquired by the membrane surface when it is brought into contact with an aqueous electrolyte medium. Several membranes have functional groups on their surfaces, which are responsible for the surface charge. Functional groups such as the carboxylic (R-COO-), amine (R-NH3+), and sulfonic (R-SO3-) groups cause the membrane surface to be charged. Another example is membrane hydrophobicity, which is also controlled by the membrane polymer and surface chemistry. Cellulose acetate membranes are extremely hydrophilic in nature. The membranes of polymers from the polysulfone (PS) family and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) are considered to have intermediate hydrophilicity, and materials like polyethylene and polypropylene are more hydrophobic.
The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the progress on monomers, the synthesis, characterization, properties, and applications of polymers, copolymers, blends and composites for the fabrication of separation membranes.
Prof. Isabel C. Escobar
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- membrane formation
- fouling
- module/process design
- applications
- emerging membrane materials
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