Amphiphobic PVDF composite membranes for anti-fouling direct contact membrane distillation

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. This study aimed to develop an effective method to fabricate the amphiphobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite membranes for membrane distillation (MD) with excellent tolerance to various organic foulants. A facial surface modification method was explored to obtain amphip...

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Main Authors: Lu, X., Peng, Y., Ge, L., Lin, R., Zhu, Z., Liu, Shaomin
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27746
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author Lu, X.
Peng, Y.
Ge, L.
Lin, R.
Zhu, Z.
Liu, Shaomin
author_facet Lu, X.
Peng, Y.
Ge, L.
Lin, R.
Zhu, Z.
Liu, Shaomin
author_sort Lu, X.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2015 Elsevier B.V. This study aimed to develop an effective method to fabricate the amphiphobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite membranes for membrane distillation (MD) with excellent tolerance to various organic foulants. A facial surface modification method was explored to obtain amphiphobic membranes with mechanical and thermal robustness by dynamically forming perfluorooctyl trichlorosilane (PFTS) and coating SiO2 nanoparticles onto the membrane surface. A variety of techniques such as environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), liquid entry pressure (LEP) measurement and contact angle goniometry were applied to examine the effects of surface modification on surface chemistry, morphology and wettability of the derived membranes. The surface modification conferred the modified membrane superhydrophobicity and oleophobicity, stemmed from micro-fluorinated SiO2 particles covering the membrane surface. The anti-fouling property of the pristine and modified membranes were examined in a direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process using sodium chloride solution containing three model foulants (hydrophobic, hydrophilic or amphiprotic). The dynamically formed SiO2-PFTS/PVDF-2 membranes exhibited good thermal and mechanical resistance for DCMD operation. DCMD test showed that the surface modification did not sacrifice the permeate flux and the salt rejection. By adding the organic foulants, the pristine membrane displayed severe permeate flux decay and salt penetration. In contrast, the modified membrane presented a stable permeate flux and high salt rejection with the presence of three foulants respectively. The anti-fouling and anti-wetting properties of the modified membrane could be attributed to the enhanced amphiphobicity of membrane surface.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-277462017-09-13T15:10:44Z Amphiphobic PVDF composite membranes for anti-fouling direct contact membrane distillation Lu, X. Peng, Y. Ge, L. Lin, R. Zhu, Z. Liu, Shaomin © 2015 Elsevier B.V. This study aimed to develop an effective method to fabricate the amphiphobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite membranes for membrane distillation (MD) with excellent tolerance to various organic foulants. A facial surface modification method was explored to obtain amphiphobic membranes with mechanical and thermal robustness by dynamically forming perfluorooctyl trichlorosilane (PFTS) and coating SiO2 nanoparticles onto the membrane surface. A variety of techniques such as environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), liquid entry pressure (LEP) measurement and contact angle goniometry were applied to examine the effects of surface modification on surface chemistry, morphology and wettability of the derived membranes. The surface modification conferred the modified membrane superhydrophobicity and oleophobicity, stemmed from micro-fluorinated SiO2 particles covering the membrane surface. The anti-fouling property of the pristine and modified membranes were examined in a direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process using sodium chloride solution containing three model foulants (hydrophobic, hydrophilic or amphiprotic). The dynamically formed SiO2-PFTS/PVDF-2 membranes exhibited good thermal and mechanical resistance for DCMD operation. DCMD test showed that the surface modification did not sacrifice the permeate flux and the salt rejection. By adding the organic foulants, the pristine membrane displayed severe permeate flux decay and salt penetration. In contrast, the modified membrane presented a stable permeate flux and high salt rejection with the presence of three foulants respectively. The anti-fouling and anti-wetting properties of the modified membrane could be attributed to the enhanced amphiphobicity of membrane surface. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27746 10.1016/j.memsci.2015.12.042 restricted
spellingShingle Lu, X.
Peng, Y.
Ge, L.
Lin, R.
Zhu, Z.
Liu, Shaomin
Amphiphobic PVDF composite membranes for anti-fouling direct contact membrane distillation
title Amphiphobic PVDF composite membranes for anti-fouling direct contact membrane distillation
title_full Amphiphobic PVDF composite membranes for anti-fouling direct contact membrane distillation
title_fullStr Amphiphobic PVDF composite membranes for anti-fouling direct contact membrane distillation
title_full_unstemmed Amphiphobic PVDF composite membranes for anti-fouling direct contact membrane distillation
title_short Amphiphobic PVDF composite membranes for anti-fouling direct contact membrane distillation
title_sort amphiphobic pvdf composite membranes for anti-fouling direct contact membrane distillation
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27746