Effect of graphene oxide concentration on the morphologies and antifouling properties of PVDF ultrafiltration membranes

Abstract Poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/graphene oxide (GO) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes are prepared via immersion precipitation phase inversion process. Raman spectra results indicate the existence of GO in PVDF/GO UF membranes. SEM pictures show that the PVDF/GO UF membranes present developed finger-like pore substructure along with the increased porosity and mean pore size. As revealed by FT-IR spectra, large amount of OH groups are appeared due to the introduction of GO nanosheets that improve the surface hydrophilicity of the modified membrane. In permeation experiment, the water flux is improved after blending GO. With 2 wt% GO content, the pure water flux and permeation flux reach peak values of 26.49 L/m2 h and 14.21 L/m2 h, increasing 79% and 99% respectively. Furthermore, the flux recovery ratio (FRR) and the fouling resistance results suggest that PVDF/GO UF membranes have better antifouling properties than pure PVDF due to the changes of surface hydrophilicity and membrane morphologies. AFM images show that UF membranes have a smoother surface with a higher efficient filtration area, which would enhance antifouling properties.

[1]  Z. Qiang,et al.  Effect of TiO2 nanowire addition on PVDF ultrafiltration membrane performance , 2011 .

[2]  Fenglin Yang,et al.  TiO2 and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) coated polyester filter in bioreactor for wastewater treatment. , 2012, Water research.

[3]  Rostam Moradian,et al.  Novel antibifouling nanofiltration polyethersulfone membrane fabricated from embedding TiO2 coated multiwalled carbon nanotubes , 2012 .

[4]  El Mokhtar Essassi,et al.  Piezoelectric β-polymorph formation and properties enhancement in graphene oxide – PVDF nanocomposite films , 2012 .

[5]  Fenglin Yang,et al.  Enhancing the hydrophilic and antifouling properties of polypropylene nonwoven fabric membranes by the grafting of poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) via the ATRP method. , 2011, Journal of colloid and interface science.

[6]  Qing-song Yu,et al.  Plasma surface modification of nanofiltration (NF) thin-film composite (TFC) membranes to improve anti organic fouling , 2011 .

[7]  A. Ismail,et al.  Effect of additives concentration on the surface properties and performance of PVDF ultrafiltration membranes for refinery produced wastewater treatment , 2011 .

[8]  M. R. M. Abed,et al.  Progress in the production and modification of PVDF membranes , 2011 .

[9]  Hui-yun Sun,et al.  Conducting film from graphite oxide nanoplatelets and poly(acrylic acid) by layer-by-layer self-assembly. , 2008, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[10]  Heechul Choi,et al.  Carbon nanotube blended polyethersulfone membranes for fouling control in water treatment. , 2011, Water research.

[11]  Cong-jie Gao,et al.  Purification and concentration of collagen by charged ultrafiltration membrane of hydrophilic polyacrylonitrile blend , 2009 .

[12]  Lu Yan,et al.  Preparation of poly(vinylidene fluoride)(pvdf) ultrafiltration membrane modified by nano-sized alumina (Al2O3) and its antifouling research , 2005 .

[13]  Zhen-liang Xu,et al.  Preparation and characterization of PVDF-SiO2 composite hollow fiber UF membrane by sol-gel method , 2009 .

[14]  E. Drioli,et al.  Clarification of blood orange juice by ultrafiltration : analyses of operating parameters, membrane fouling and juice quality , 2007 .

[15]  Kang Li,et al.  Preparation of PVDF Hollow Fiber Membranes Using SiO2 Particles: The Effect of Acid and Alkali Treatment on the Membrane Performances , 2011 .

[16]  A. W. Zularisam,et al.  Behaviours of natural organic matter in membrane filtration for surface water treatment — a review , 2006 .

[17]  Jun Ma,et al.  Enhanced separation performance of PVDF/PVP-g-MMT nanocomposite ultrafiltration membrane based on the NVP-grafted polymerization modification of montmorillonite (MMT). , 2012, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[18]  S. Bose,et al.  Recent advances in graphene based polymer composites , 2010 .

[19]  Cong-jie Gao,et al.  Fabrication and characterization of novel SiO2-PAMPS/PSF hybrid ultrafiltration membrane with high water flux , 2012 .

[20]  Roberto M. Narbaitz,et al.  Novel modified PVDF ultrafiltration flat-sheet membranes , 2012 .

[21]  Yu Jun,et al.  Functionalized Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite Membrane for Low Humidity and High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells , 2011 .

[22]  G. Arthanareeswaran,et al.  Fabrication of cellulose acetate-zirconia hybrid membranes for ultrafiltration applications: Performance, structure and fouling analysis , 2010 .

[23]  Cheng-Liang Chang,et al.  Effect of salt additive on the formation of microporous poly(vinylidene fluoride) membranes by phase inversion from LiClO4/Water/DMF/PVDF system , 2003 .

[24]  A. Rahimpour,et al.  Preparation and characterization of modified nano-porous PVDF membrane with high antifouling property using UV photo-grafting , 2009 .

[25]  P. J. Ollivier,et al.  Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Ultrathin Composite Films from Micron-Sized Graphite Oxide Sheets and Polycations , 1999 .

[26]  Baoli Shi,et al.  Preparation and properties of microporous membrane from poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (F2.4) for membrane distillation , 2004 .

[27]  Zhimin Chen,et al.  Modification of graphene oxide with amphiphilic double-crystalline block copolymer polyethylene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) with assistance of supercritical CO2 and its further functionalization. , 2011, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[28]  M. Singh,et al.  Graphene oxide modified with PMMA via ATRP as a reinforcement filler , 2010 .

[29]  In-Chul Kim,et al.  Preparation and characterization of fouling-resistant TiO2 self-assembled nanocomposite membranes , 2006 .

[30]  C. W. Lee,et al.  Application of ultrafiltration hybrid membrane processes for reuse of secondary effluent , 2007 .