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Membranes
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Enhanced Membrane Properties by Membrane Surface Modification and Functionalization
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Enhanced Membrane Properties by Membrane Surface Modification and Functionalization

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Surfaces and Interfaces".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 December 2022) | Viewed by 11048

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Teresa Poerio

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute on Membrane Technology (CNR-ITM), University of Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende, 87036 Cosenza, Italy
Interests: preparation; functionalization and characterization of polymeric and inorganic membranes; catalytic and photocatalytic membrane reactors; membrane processes for water treatment; integrated membrane processes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect original research papers or reviews which report the recent efforts and progresses obtained in the membrane surface modification. The surface modification and functionalization can be obtained by coating, self-assembly, chemical treatment, plasma treatment, and surface graft polymerization. Today, the demand of membranes with specific properties is increasing in many industrial fields, such as gas separation, water treatment, biomedical, microelectronics, molecular recognition, etc. Almost 50% of all MF and UF membranes on the market were surface modified. Considering that the membrane performances also depend on the surface properties, more attention has been given to the modification of the surfaces. The goal of surface modification is to minimize the adsorption or the adhesion which reduce the fouling formation, or to introduce new membrane properties (affinity or catalytic) as a way of improving the selectivity or creating an entirely novel separation function.

Dr. Teresa Poerio
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • membrane surface functionalization
  • membrane coating
  • self-assembly
  • chemical treatment
  • plasma treatment and surface graft polymerization

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 5908 KiB  
Article
Thermoradiationally Modified Polytetrafluoroethylene as a Basis for Membrane Fabrication: Resistance to Hydrogen Penetration, the Effect of Ion Treatment on the Chemical Structure and Surface Morphology, Evaluation of the Track Radius
by Lev Vladimirovich Moskvitin, Ol’ga Alekseevna Koshkina, Sergei Vital’evich Slesarenko, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Arsentyev, Leonid Izrailevich Trakhtenberg, Sergei Mikhailovich Ryndya, Eldar Parpachevich Magomedbekov and Alexander Sergeevich Smolyanskii
Membranes 2023, 13(1), 101; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes13010101 - 12 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1355
Abstract
A study of the properties of thermoradiationally modified polytetrafluoroethylene and its importance for use as the basis of polymer membranes is presented. The hydrogen permeability of a TRM-PTFE film was studied in comparison with an original PTFE film, and showed a three-fold decrease [...] Read more.
A study of the properties of thermoradiationally modified polytetrafluoroethylene and its importance for use as the basis of polymer membranes is presented. The hydrogen permeability of a TRM-PTFE film was studied in comparison with an original PTFE film, and showed a three-fold decrease in hydrogen permeability. Further, TRM-PTFE films were irradiated with accelerated Xe ions with an energy of 1 MeV with fluences from 1 × 108 to 1 × 1011. The changes induced by ion treatment were analyzed by infrared spectroscopy of disturbed total internal reflection (IR-ATR) and by atomic force microscopy (ASM). IR-ATR indicated the absence of destruction in the fluence range from 1 × 108 to 3 × 1010 cm−2 (in the area of isolated tracks) and the beginning of overlap of latent tracks on fluences from 3 × 1010 to 1 × 1011 cm−2. Topographic images with AFM showed layered lamellar structures that collapsed at a fluence of 108 cm−2. The destruction was accompanied by a decrease in roughness about seven times the size of the track core observed by the ASM method, fully corresponding to the value obtained on the basis of calculations using modeling in an SRIM program. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhanced Membrane Properties by Membrane Surface Modification and Functionalization)
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16 pages, 6502 KiB  
Article
Photocatalytic VOCs Degradation Efficiency of Polypropylene Membranes by Incorporation of TiO2 Nanoparticles
by Md. Abu Hanif, Hyokyeong Shin, Danbi Chun, Hong Gun Kim, Lee Ku Kwac and Young Soon Kim
Membranes 2023, 13(1), 50; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes13010050 - 30 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1488
Abstract
A class of serious environmental contaminants related to air, namely volatile organic compounds (VOCs), has currently attracted global attention. The present study aims to remove harmful VOCs using as-prepared polypropylene membrane + TiO2 nanoparticles (PPM + TiO2 NPs) via the photocatalytic [...] Read more.
A class of serious environmental contaminants related to air, namely volatile organic compounds (VOCs), has currently attracted global attention. The present study aims to remove harmful VOCs using as-prepared polypropylene membrane + TiO2 nanoparticles (PPM + TiO2 NPs) via the photocatalytic gas bag A method under UV light irradiation. Here, formaldehyde was used as the target VOC. The PPM + TiO2 NPs material was systematically characterized using various microscopic and spectroscopic techniques, including field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and contact angle measurements. These results confirm the successful preparation of PPM + TiO2 NPs, which can be applied to the degradation of VOCs. Photocatalytic degradation of formaldehyde gas reached 70% within 1 h of UV illumination. The energy bandgap and photoluminescence intensity reductions are responsible for the improved photocatalytic activity. These characteristics increase the charge transport while decreasing the recombination of electron–hole pairs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhanced Membrane Properties by Membrane Surface Modification and Functionalization)
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11 pages, 5075 KiB  
Article
Surface of CuO Nanoparticles Modified by p-Benzoquinone for N2-Selective Membrane
by Juyeong Lee, Hiesang Sohn and Sang Wook Kang
Membranes 2022, 12(12), 1229; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes12121229 - 05 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1052
Abstract
In this study, CuO nanoparticles and p-benzoquinone (p-BQ) were added to a polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) matrix to increase N2/CO2 selectivity. The added p-BQ allowed CuO to be distributed in a uniform size in the PVP/CuO composite membrane [...] Read more.
In this study, CuO nanoparticles and p-benzoquinone (p-BQ) were added to a polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) matrix to increase N2/CO2 selectivity. The added p-BQ allowed CuO to be distributed in a uniform size in the PVP/CuO composite membrane and the matrix to be flexible by forming the interaction with PVP. The surface modification of CuO by p-BQ and the well-dispersed size affected the increase in the separation performance. The PVP/CuO/p-BQ composite membranes showed an N2/CO2 selectivity of about 23.1 with N2 permeance of about 13.3 GPU, while the separation performance of PVP was not observed. The enhanced separation performance is attributable to the surface of CuO nanoparticles modified by p-BQ inducing CO2 molecules to be relatively slowly transported by the adsorption properties in the polymer matrix. The chemical properties and coordinative interaction for PVP/CuO/p-BQ composite membrane were measured by FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, UV–vis, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhanced Membrane Properties by Membrane Surface Modification and Functionalization)
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22 pages, 5254 KiB  
Article
Novel PDMS-b-PPO Membranes Modified with Graphene Oxide for Efficient Pervaporation Ethanol Dehydration
by Mariia Dmitrenko, Anastasia Chepeleva, Vladislav Liamin, Anna Kuzminova, Anton Mazur, Konstantin Semenov and Anastasia Penkova
Membranes 2022, 12(9), 832; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes12090832 - 25 Aug 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1855
Abstract
Purification and concentration of bioalcohols is gaining new status due to their use as a promising alternative liquid biofuel. In this work, novel high-performance asymmetric membranes based on a block copolymer (BCP) synthesized from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) were developed for [...] Read more.
Purification and concentration of bioalcohols is gaining new status due to their use as a promising alternative liquid biofuel. In this work, novel high-performance asymmetric membranes based on a block copolymer (BCP) synthesized from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) were developed for enhanced pervaporation dehydration of ethanol. Improvement in dehydration performance was achieved by obtaining BCP membranes with a “non-perforated” porous structure and through surface and bulk modifications with graphene oxide (GO). Formation of the BCP was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies. The changes to morphology and physicochemical properties of the developed BCP and BCP/GO membranes were studied by scanning electron (SEM) and atomic force (AFM) microscopies, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and contact angle measurements. Transport properties of the developed membranes were evaluated by the pervaporation dehydration of ethanol over a wide concentration range (4.4–70 wt.% water) at 22 °C. The BCP (PDMS:PPO:2,4-diisocyanatotoluene = 41:58:1 wt.% composition) membrane modified with 0.7 wt.% GO demonstrated optimal transport characteristics: 80–90 g/(m2h) permeation flux with high selectivity (76.8–98.8 wt.% water in the permeate, separation factor of 72–34) and pervaporation separation index (PSI) of 5.5–2.9. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhanced Membrane Properties by Membrane Surface Modification and Functionalization)
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16 pages, 2586 KiB  
Article
A Self-Controlled and Self-Healing Model of Bacterial Cells
by Max Garzon, Petr Sosik, Jan Drastík and Omar Skalli
Membranes 2022, 12(7), 678; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes12070678 - 30 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1276
Abstract
A new kind of self-assembly model, morphogenetic (M) systems, assembles spatial units into larger structures through local interactions of simpler components and enables discovery of new principles for cellular membrane assembly, development, and its interface function. The model is based on interactions among [...] Read more.
A new kind of self-assembly model, morphogenetic (M) systems, assembles spatial units into larger structures through local interactions of simpler components and enables discovery of new principles for cellular membrane assembly, development, and its interface function. The model is based on interactions among three kinds of constitutive objects such as tiles and protein-like elements in discrete time and continuous 3D space. It was motivated by achieving a balance between three conflicting goals: biological, physical-chemical, and computational realism. A recent example is a unified model of morphogenesis of a single biological cell, its membrane and cytoskeleton formation, and finally, its self-reproduction. Here, a family of dynamic M systems (Mbac) is described with similar characteristics, modeling the process of bacterial cell formation and division that exhibits bacterial behaviors of living cells at the macro-level (including cell growth that is self-controlled and sensitive to the presence/absence of nutrients transported through membranes), as well as self-healing properties. Remarkably, it consists of only 20 or so developmental rules. Furthermore, since the model exhibits membrane formation and septic mitosis, it affords more rigorous definitions of concepts such as injury and self-healing that enable quantitative analyses of these kinds of properties. Mbac shows that self-assembly and interactions of living organisms with their environments and membrane interfaces are critical for self-healing, and that these properties can be defined and quantified more rigorously and precisely, despite their complexity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhanced Membrane Properties by Membrane Surface Modification and Functionalization)
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8 pages, 1824 KiB  
Communication
Preparation of Alumina-Sphere-Supported Potassium Chabazite Zeolite Membrane with Excellent Potassium Extraction Performance at Room Temperature
by Jie Ouyang, Heng Wei and Jin Hou
Membranes 2022, 12(6), 604; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes12060604 - 10 Jun 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1316
Abstract
In this paper, a potassium chabazite (KCHA) zeolite membrane was prepared by coating KCHA zeolite on the surface of a porous alumina sphere. The performance of the KCHA zeolite membrane in extracting potassium from seawater and sea bittern at room temperature was studied [...] Read more.
In this paper, a potassium chabazite (KCHA) zeolite membrane was prepared by coating KCHA zeolite on the surface of a porous alumina sphere. The performance of the KCHA zeolite membrane in extracting potassium from seawater and sea bittern at room temperature was studied in detail. The XRD results show that the prepared KCHA zeolite was a KCHA membrane. The EDS test indicated that the potassium content of the KCHA zeolite membrane reached a value of 18.33 wt.%. The morphology of the KCHA zeolite grown on the surface of the alumina sphere was similar to a sphere, and it had good symmetry. The potassium ion-exchange capacities of the KCHA zeolite membrane reached 32 mg/g in seawater and 77 mg/g in sea bittern at room temperature. Ion exchange between the ammonium ions and potassium ions in the KCHA zeolite membrane could be completed in a short time at room temperature. The KCHA zeolite membrane was proven to have good reusability in seawater and sea bittern. The selective ion-exchange mechanism of the KCHA zeolite membrane was controlled by a specific K+ ion memory. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhanced Membrane Properties by Membrane Surface Modification and Functionalization)
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16 pages, 3662 KiB  
Article
Ultrafiltration Membranes Functionalized with Copper Oxide and Zwitterions for Fouling Resistance
by Cannon Hackett, Mojtaba Abolhassani, Lauren F. Greenlee and Audie K. Thompson
Membranes 2022, 12(5), 544; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes12050544 - 23 May 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2093
Abstract
Polymeric membrane fouling is a long-standing challenge for water filtration. Metal/metal oxide nanoparticle functionalization of the membrane surface can impart anti-fouling properties through the reactivity of the metal species and the generation of radical species. Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) are effective at [...] Read more.
Polymeric membrane fouling is a long-standing challenge for water filtration. Metal/metal oxide nanoparticle functionalization of the membrane surface can impart anti-fouling properties through the reactivity of the metal species and the generation of radical species. Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) are effective at reducing organic fouling when used in conjunction with hydrogen peroxide, but leaching of copper ions from the membrane has been observed, which can hinder the longevity of the CuO NP activity at the membrane surface. Zwitterions can reduce organic fouling and stabilize NP attachment, suggesting a potential opportunity to combine the two functionalizations. Here, we coated polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration membranes with polydopamine (PDA) and attached the zwitterionic compound, thiolated 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC-SH), and CuO NPs. Functionalized membranes resulted in a higher flux recovery ratio (0.694) than the unfunctionalized PES control (0.599). Copper retention was high (>96%) for functionalized membranes. The results indicate that CuO NPs and MPC-SH can reduce organic fouling with only limited copper leaching. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhanced Membrane Properties by Membrane Surface Modification and Functionalization)
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