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Carbon nanotubes enhance permeability of ultrathin polyamide rejection layers

Year: 2019

Journal: J. Membr. Sci., Volume 570, JAN 15, page 139–145

Authors: Ma, Xiao-Hua; Guo, Hao; Yang, Zhe; Yao, Zhi-Kan; Qing, Wei-Hua; Chen, Yi-Liang; Xu, Zhen-Liang; Tang, Chuyang Y.

Organizations: Hong Kong Scholars Program, China [XJ2015015]; General Research Fund of the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, China [17207514]; Seed Fund for Strategic Interdisciplinary Research Scheme at the University of Hong Kong, China; National Natural Science Foundation of China, China [21406060]; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China [WA1514305]; China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, China [2016M601527]

Keywords: Ultrathin film composite (uTFC); Polyamide membrane; Additive interfacial polymerization; Electrospray; Carbon nanotubes (CNTs)

Membranes with ultrathin rejection layers can effectively achieve high water permeability. In the current study, we report a single-step fabrication of carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-loaded ultrathin film composite (uTFC) polyamide membranes using an electrospray-assisted interfacial polymerization method. In this method, amine and acyl chloride monomer solutions were electrosprayed into micro-droplets to allow a controlled growth of the polyamide rejection layer. At the same time, CNTs were uniformly dispersed under the action of the electrical field. The loading of CNTs in the polyamide rejection layer markedly enhance the water permeability of the membrane with a 2-6 folds enhancement. The simple and versatile electrospray-assisted interfacial polymerization method, which allows simultaneous control of rejection layer thickness and dispersion of nanomaterials, paves a new dimension for the preparation of high performance ultrathin nanocomposite membranes.