Design and properties of polyvinylidene fluoride/poly(styrene-butadiene-styrene)/functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube nanocomposite membranes

Abstract

In this work, we prepared thin film nanocomposite membranes for water desalination. We synthesized nanocomposite derived from polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), poly(styrene-butadiene-styrene) (SBS), and modified multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT). Three nanotube modifications were prepared: carboxylic acid functional MWCNT-COOH, acid chloride functional MWCNT-COCl and thiocyanate-modified MWCNT-SCN. Consequently, three nanocomposite blends with 0.01–1 wt. % nanofiller, PVDF/SBS-MWCNT-COOH, PVDF/SBS-MWCNT-COCl and PVDF/SBS-MWCNT-SCN, were prepared. Functionalization of the nanotube was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Surface morphology of the membranes was studied by scanning electron microscopy. PVDF/SBS-MWCNT-COOH 0.01–1 nanocomposite tensile strength increased from 10.1 to 13.1 MPa, while PVDF/SBS-MWCNT-SCN 0.01–1 increased from 10.2 to 13.9 MPa. PVDF/SBS-MWCNT-COOH nanocomposite maximum decomposition temperature increased from 516℃ to 559℃ and PVDF/SBS-MWCNT-SCN increased from 551 to 574℃. PVDF/SBS-MWCNT-COOH 0.01–0.1 percent solvent content changed from 1.07% to 1.39% and PVDF/SBS-MWCNT-SCN 0.01–0.1 changed from 1.08% to 2.80%. PVDF/SBS-MWCNT-SCN 0.01–0.1 porosity in water (0.05–0.08) was highest among all membranes. Shrinkage ratio decreased with increasing nanotube content in all membranes. PVDF/SBS-MWCNT-SCN nanocomposite pure water flux (4.7 mLcm⁻²min⁻¹), salt rejection (83.9%), and recovery (76.7%) were higher than other membranes prepared.

Keywords

Polyvinylidene fluoride poly(styrene-butadiene-styrene)MWCNT tensile strength porosity pure water flux

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Gleick

. The human right to water. Water Policy 1998; 1: 487–503.

Pendergast

Hoek

. A review of water treatment membrane nanotechnologies. Energy Environ Sci 2011; 4: 1946–1971.

Brandhuber

Amy

. Alternative methods for membrane filtration of arsenic from drinking water. Desalination 1998; 117: 1–10.

Alcamo

Florke

Marker

. Future long-term changes in global water resources driven by socio-economic and climatic changes. Hydrol Sci J 2007; 52: 247–275.

Cornelissen

van den Boomgaard

Strathmann

. Physicochemical aspects of polymer selection for ultrafiltration and microfiltration membranes. Colloids Surf A 1998; 138: 283–289.

McCutcheon

Elimelech

. Influence of membrane support layer hydrophobicity on water flux in osmotically driven membrane processes. J Membr Sci 2008; 318: 458–466.

Evuti

Lawal

. Recovery of coagulants from water works sludge: A review. Adv Appl Sci Res 2011; 2: 410–417.

Yuan

Zydney

. Humic acid fouling during ultrafiltration. Environ Sci Technol 2000; 34: 5043–5050.

Van der Bruggen

Vandecasteele

Van Gestel

. A review of pressure-driven membrane processes in wastewater treatment and drinking water production. Environ Prog 2003; 22: 46–56.

10.

Saha

Chakraborty

. Adsorption desalination quenches global thirst. Heat Trans Eng 2008; 29: 845–848.

11.

Pianta

Boller

Urfer

. Costs of conventional vs. membrane treatment for karstic spring water. Desalination 2000; 131: 245–255.

12.

Suzuki

. Application of fiber adsorbents in water treatment. Water Sci Technol 1991; 23: 1649–1658.

13.

Harwood

Levine

Scott

. Validity of the indicator organism paradigm for pathogen reduction in reclaimed water and public health protection. Appl Environ Microb 2005; 71: 3163–3170.

14.

Mahendra

Lyon

. Antimicrobial nanomaterials for water disinfection and microbial control: Potential applications and implications. Water Res 2008; 42: 4591–4602.

15.

Tena

Fernández

Sánchez

. Mixed matrix membranes of 6FDA-6FpDA with surface functionalized γ-alumina particles. An analysis of the improvement of permselectivity for several gas pairs. Chem Eng Sci 2010; 65: 2227–2235.

16.

Feil

Bae

Feijen

. Molecular separation by thermosensitive hydrogel membranes. J Membr Sci 1991; 64: 283–294.

17.

Levi

Czerw

Xing

. Properties of polyvinylidene difluoride-carbon nanotube blends. Nano Lett 2004; 4: 1267–1271.

18.

Ding

. Adsorption thermodynamic, kinetic and desorption studies of Pb²⁺ on carbon nanotubes. Water Res 2005; 39: 605–609.

19.

Rao

. Sorption of divalent metal ions from aqueous solution by carbon nanotubes: A review. Sep Purif Technol 2007; 58: 224–231.

20.

Ding

Peng

. Chromium adsorption by aligned carbon nanotubes supported ceria nanoparticles. Chemosphere 2006; 62: 861–865.

21.

Brad-Estévez

Kang

Elimelech

. A single walled carbon nanotube filter for removal of viral and bacterial pathogens. Small 2008; 4: 481–484.

22.

Akasaka

Watari

. Capture of bacteria by flexible carbon nanotubes. Acta Biomater 2009; 5: 607–612.

23.

Deng

Upadhyayula

Smith

. Adsorption equilibrium and kinetics of microorganisms on single-wall carbon nanotubes. Sensors J IEEE 2008; 8: 954–962.

24.

. Adsorption of natural organic matter by carbon nanotubes. Sep Purif Technol 2007; 58: 113–121.

25.

Pan

Xing

. Adsorption mechanisms of organic chemicals on carbon nanotubes. Environ Sci Technol 2008; 42: 9005–9013.

26.

. The application of the modified PVDF ultrafiltration membranes in further purification of Ginkgo biloba extraction. J Membr Sci 2005; 255: 125–131.

27.

Koo

Inoue

Miyasaka

. Toughened plastics consisting of brittle particles and ductile matrix. Polym Eng Sci 1985; 25: 741–746.

28.

de las Heras Alarcón

Pennadam

Alexander

. Stimuli responsive polymers for biomedical applications. Chem Soc Rev 2005; 34: 276–285.

29.

Wienk

Boom

Beerlage

MAM

. Recent advances in the formation of phase inversion membranes made from amorphous or semi-crystalline polymers. J Membr Sci 1996; 113: 361–371.

30.

Deshmukh

. Effect of ethanol composition in water coagulation bath on morphology of PVDF hollow fibre membranes. J Membr Sci 1998; 150: 75–85.

31.

Kausar

Hussain

. Effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes reinforcement on the physical properties of poly(thiourea-azo-ether)-based nanocomposites. J Plast Film Sheet 2013; 29: 365–383.

32.

Zakaria Z, Islam S, Hassan A, et al. Mechanical properties and morphological characterization of PLA/chitosan/epoxidized natural rubber composites. Adv Mater Sci Eng. DOI.org/10.1155/2013/629092.

33.

Brunet

Lyon

Zodrow

. Properties of membranes containing semi-dispersed carbon nanotubes. J Environ Eng Sci 2008; 25: 565–576.

34.

Kausar

Ullah-Shah

Khan

. An investigation on novel poly(thiourea-amide) based nanocomposites reinforced with silica nanotubes. Polym-Plast Tech Eng 2014; 53: 223–228.

35.

Lee

McCloskey

Cook

. Disulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) random copolymer thin film composite membrane fabricated using a benign solvent for reverse osmosis applications. J Membr Sci 2012; 389: 363–371.