Towards a High-Flux Separation Layer from Hexagonal Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Thin-Film Composite Membranes
Hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystals (HLLC) with uniform pore size in the range of 1~5 nm are highly sought after as promising active separation layers of thin-film composite (TFC) membranes, which have been confirmed to be efficient for water purification. The potential interaction between an amphip...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Membranes |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/11/842 |
| _version_ | 1797509418721476608 |
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| author | Senlin Gu Bao Yuan Bo Bai Xin Tong Luke A. O’Dell Dong Wang Lingxue Kong Guang Wang |
| author_facet | Senlin Gu Bao Yuan Bo Bai Xin Tong Luke A. O’Dell Dong Wang Lingxue Kong Guang Wang |
| author_sort | Senlin Gu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystals (HLLC) with uniform pore size in the range of 1~5 nm are highly sought after as promising active separation layers of thin-film composite (TFC) membranes, which have been confirmed to be efficient for water purification. The potential interaction between an amphiphile-based HLLC layer and the substrate surface, however, has not been fully explored. In this research, hydrophilic and hydrophobic microporous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) substrates were chosen, respectively, to prepare TFC membranes with the active layers templated from HLLC, consisting of dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide, water, and a mixture of poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate. The pore size of the active layer was found to decrease by about 1.6 Å compared to that of the free-standing HLLC after polymerization, but no significant difference was observable by using either hydrophilic or hydrophobic substrates (26.9 Å vs. 27.1 Å). The water flux of the TFC membrane with the hydrophobic substrate, however, was higher than that with the hydrophilic one. A further investigation confirmed that the increase in water flux originated from a much higher porosity was due to the synergistic effect of the hydrophilic HLLC nanoporous material and the hydrophobic substrate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:17:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0bd4ff51fc0d4750af5fdd279337837a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0375 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:17:25Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Membranes |
| spelling | doaj.art-0bd4ff51fc0d4750af5fdd279337837a2023-11-23T00:19:25ZengMDPI AGMembranes2077-03752021-10-01111184210.3390/membranes11110842Towards a High-Flux Separation Layer from Hexagonal Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Thin-Film Composite MembranesSenlin Gu0Bao Yuan1Bo Bai2Xin Tong3Luke A. O’Dell4Dong Wang5Lingxue Kong6Guang Wang7Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaInstitute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaInstitute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaInstitute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaInstitute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, AustraliaHubei Key Laboratory of Advanced Textile Materials & Application, Hubei International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Intelligent Textile Materials & Application, Wuhan Texture University, Wuhan 430200, ChinaInstitute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, AustraliaInstitute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaHexagonal lyotropic liquid crystals (HLLC) with uniform pore size in the range of 1~5 nm are highly sought after as promising active separation layers of thin-film composite (TFC) membranes, which have been confirmed to be efficient for water purification. The potential interaction between an amphiphile-based HLLC layer and the substrate surface, however, has not been fully explored. In this research, hydrophilic and hydrophobic microporous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) substrates were chosen, respectively, to prepare TFC membranes with the active layers templated from HLLC, consisting of dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide, water, and a mixture of poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate. The pore size of the active layer was found to decrease by about 1.6 Å compared to that of the free-standing HLLC after polymerization, but no significant difference was observable by using either hydrophilic or hydrophobic substrates (26.9 Å vs. 27.1 Å). The water flux of the TFC membrane with the hydrophobic substrate, however, was higher than that with the hydrophilic one. A further investigation confirmed that the increase in water flux originated from a much higher porosity was due to the synergistic effect of the hydrophilic HLLC nanoporous material and the hydrophobic substrate.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/11/842hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystalhydrophobic/hydrophilic substratesthin-film composite membranes |
| spellingShingle | Senlin Gu Bao Yuan Bo Bai Xin Tong Luke A. O’Dell Dong Wang Lingxue Kong Guang Wang Towards a High-Flux Separation Layer from Hexagonal Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Thin-Film Composite Membranes Membranes hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystal hydrophobic/hydrophilic substrates thin-film composite membranes |
| title | Towards a High-Flux Separation Layer from Hexagonal Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Thin-Film Composite Membranes |
| title_full | Towards a High-Flux Separation Layer from Hexagonal Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Thin-Film Composite Membranes |
| title_fullStr | Towards a High-Flux Separation Layer from Hexagonal Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Thin-Film Composite Membranes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Towards a High-Flux Separation Layer from Hexagonal Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Thin-Film Composite Membranes |
| title_short | Towards a High-Flux Separation Layer from Hexagonal Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Thin-Film Composite Membranes |
| title_sort | towards a high flux separation layer from hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystals for thin film composite membranes |
| topic | hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystal hydrophobic/hydrophilic substrates thin-film composite membranes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/11/842 |
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