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PTFE-assisted immobilization of Pluronic F127 in PVDF hollow fiber membranes with enhanced hydrophilicity through nonsolvent-thermally induced phase separation method

PTFE-assisted immobilization of Pluronic F127 in PVDF hollow fiber membranes with enhanced hydrophilicity through nonsolvent-thermally induced phase separation method
PTFE-assisted immobilization of Pluronic F127 in PVDF hollow fiber membranes with enhanced hydrophilicity through nonsolvent-thermally induced phase separation method

The use of amphiphilic copolymer Pluronic F127 as an additive has shown effectiveness in fabricating polyethersulfone (PES) membranes with excellent antifouling properties due to its roles in enhancing pore structure and surface hydrophilicity. However, F127 was found to be unstable in polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes as its hydrophilic modifying function was deactivated over time. In present work, we developed a novel approach to immobilize F127 in PVDF hollow fiber membranes using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) particles as a binding agent through the combined nonsolvent and thermally induced phase separation (N-TIPS) method. The results suggest that the hydrophobic segment of F127 could adsorb firmly onto PTFE with the hydrophilic segments protruding outwards. The dual-functions of F127 were observed in pore formation and surface hydrophilization for PVDF membranes. The water contact angle of PVDF/PTFE/F127 membranes decreased from 102 ± 4° to 76 ± 3° compared with membranes without additives. The resultant membranes possess a pure water permeability (PWP) of 869 ± 39 L m−2h−1bar−1 with a mean pore size of 0.09 ± 0.01 μm and an outstanding tensile strength of 7.0 ± 0.3 MPa, suggesting the potential of N-TIPS method for tuning the membrane pore structure and hydrophilicity by using multifunctional additives.

Nonsovlent and thermally induced phase separation, Pluronic F127, Polytetrafluoroethylene, Polyvinylidene fluoride membrane
0376-7388
Zhao, Jie
3be79b67-2e5f-4fc1-a6db-539f6a04aece
Chong, Jeng Yi
2f9ead94-86f2-4e20-9e67-75f10759555b
Shi, Lei
b092e01b-e66b-48d8-becf-15618b5e5425
Wang, Rong
fd4ca2d0-78f2-40c2-aad1-355e7f3f3022
Zhao, Jie
3be79b67-2e5f-4fc1-a6db-539f6a04aece
Chong, Jeng Yi
2f9ead94-86f2-4e20-9e67-75f10759555b
Shi, Lei
b092e01b-e66b-48d8-becf-15618b5e5425
Wang, Rong
fd4ca2d0-78f2-40c2-aad1-355e7f3f3022

Zhao, Jie, Chong, Jeng Yi, Shi, Lei and Wang, Rong (2021) PTFE-assisted immobilization of Pluronic F127 in PVDF hollow fiber membranes with enhanced hydrophilicity through nonsolvent-thermally induced phase separation method. Journal of Membrane Science, 620, [118914]. (doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2020.118914).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The use of amphiphilic copolymer Pluronic F127 as an additive has shown effectiveness in fabricating polyethersulfone (PES) membranes with excellent antifouling properties due to its roles in enhancing pore structure and surface hydrophilicity. However, F127 was found to be unstable in polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes as its hydrophilic modifying function was deactivated over time. In present work, we developed a novel approach to immobilize F127 in PVDF hollow fiber membranes using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) particles as a binding agent through the combined nonsolvent and thermally induced phase separation (N-TIPS) method. The results suggest that the hydrophobic segment of F127 could adsorb firmly onto PTFE with the hydrophilic segments protruding outwards. The dual-functions of F127 were observed in pore formation and surface hydrophilization for PVDF membranes. The water contact angle of PVDF/PTFE/F127 membranes decreased from 102 ± 4° to 76 ± 3° compared with membranes without additives. The resultant membranes possess a pure water permeability (PWP) of 869 ± 39 L m−2h−1bar−1 with a mean pore size of 0.09 ± 0.01 μm and an outstanding tensile strength of 7.0 ± 0.3 MPa, suggesting the potential of N-TIPS method for tuning the membrane pore structure and hydrophilicity by using multifunctional additives.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 13 November 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 19 November 2020
Published date: 18 January 2021
Additional Information: Funding Information: We acknowledge funding support from the Singapore Economic Development Board to the Singapore Membrane Technology Centre at Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (NEWRI), Nanyang Technological University , Singapore. We would like to acknowledge Dr. Yunbo Lv, Ms. Mei Shan Lam, and Ms. Ru Ying Ng from NEWRI Analytics Cluster for the guidance of operating Py-GCMS and XPS. Special thanks are due to Prof. Mohamed Khayet, Dr. Chun Heng Loh and Dr. Xin Li for their valuable suggestions.
Keywords: Nonsovlent and thermally induced phase separation, Pluronic F127, Polytetrafluoroethylene, Polyvinylidene fluoride membrane

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 486387
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/486387
ISSN: 0376-7388
PURE UUID: 5dcd6885-d735-471c-9718-d504086c91d8
ORCID for Jeng Yi Chong: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0593-6313

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 19 Jan 2024 17:30
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 02:20

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Contributors

Author: Jie Zhao
Author: Jeng Yi Chong ORCID iD
Author: Lei Shi
Author: Rong Wang

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