Vertically oriented nanoporous block copolymer membranes for oil/water separation and filtration
Author | Luo Y. |
Author | Wang X. |
Author | Zhang R. |
Author | Singh M. |
Author | Ammar A. |
Author | Cousins D. |
Author | Hassan M.K. |
Author | Ponnamma D. |
Author | Adham S. |
Author | Al-Maadeed M.A.A. |
Author | Karim A. |
Available date | 2022-02-27T09:30:33Z |
Publication Date | 2020 |
Publication Name | Soft Matter |
Resource | Scopus |
Identifier | http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d0sm00526f |
Abstract | The separation of oil from water and filtration of aqueous solutions and dispersions are critical issues in the processing of waste and contaminated water treatment. Membrane-based technology has been proven as an effective method for the separation of oil from water. In this research, novel vertical nanopores membrane, via oriented cylindrical block copolymer (BCP) films, suitable for oil/water filtration has been designed, fabricated and tested. We used a ?100 nm thick model poly(styrene-block-methymethacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) BCP as the active top nanofiltration layer, processed using a roll-to-roll (R2R) method of cold zone annealing (CZA) to obtain vertical orientation, followed by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation selective etch of PMMA cylinders to form vertically oriented nanopores as a novel feature compared to meandering nanopores in other reported BCP systems. The cylindrical nanochannels are hydrophilic, and have a uniform pore size (?23 nm), a narrow pore size distribution and a high nanopore density (?420 per sq. micron). The bottom supporting layer is a conventional microporous polyethersulfone (PES) membrane. The created asymmetric membrane is demonstrated to be effective for oil/water extraction with a modestly high throughput rate comparable to other RO/NF membranes. The molecular weight dependent filtration of a water soluble polymer, PEO, demonstrates the broader applications of such membranes. |
Sponsor | This publication is made possible by NPRP grant 10-0127-170269 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). A. K. would like to acknowledge the funding support supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) via Grant DMR-1905996. The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors. |
Language | en |
Publisher | Royal Society of Chemistry |
Subject | Block copolymers Membrane technology Nanopores Polymethyl methacrylates Pore size Styrene Waste treatment Water filtration Water pollution Water treatment Block copolymer membranes Membrane-based technology Molecular weight dependent Narrow pore size distributions Polyethersulfone membrane Separation of oil from water Ultraviolet irradiations Watersoluble polymers Microfiltration |
Type | Article |
Pagination | 9648-9654 |
Issue Number | 42 |
Volume Number | 16 |
Files in this item
Files | Size | Format | View |
---|---|---|---|
There are no files associated with this item. |
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
-
Center for Advanced Materials Research [1351 items ]
-
Materials Science & Technology [294 items ]