A Novel Swelling-Diffusion Strategy for Modifying the Structural and Chemical Properties of Polyamide Membranes
발표자
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초록
내용
Polyamide (PA) membranes have drawn global attention for securing clean water. However, due to the limited structural and chemical natures of PA, their application to various separation fields has been impeded. Although several strategies have been employed, they leaded to performance trade-off or required expensive processes. Herein, we propose a facile method to modify the overall properties of PA membranes. The solvent activation (SA) process, where a PA membrane is exposed to a proper organic solvent, can convert a dense reverse osmosis structure into a loose nanofiltration structure via swelling-annealing processes. By introducing modifiers during the SA process, referred to as the swelling-diffusion process, the modifier will diffuse and be interlocked with the PA network, thus altering the overall properties of the membrane. The resultant membrane exhibits high water permeance, rejection, and superior Li/Mg selectivity, which can broaden the application spectrum of PA membranes.