TY - JOUR
T1 - Self-doped sulfonated polyaniline ultrafiltration membranes with enhanced chlorine resistance and antifouling properties
AU - Alali Alhweij, Hassan
AU - Shahid, Salman
AU - Emanuelsson, Emma Anna Carolina
AU - Amura, Ida
AU - Wenk, Jannis
N1 - Funding Information:
Hassan Alhweij was funded by a University of Bath for research scholarship (URSA). The authors also thank the technician's team at the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Bio‐imaging lab at the University of Bath for support and advice.
Funding Information:
Hassan Alhweij was funded by a University of Bath for research scholarship (URSA). The authors also thank the technician's team at the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Bio-imaging lab at the University of Bath for support and advice.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Journal of Applied Polymer Science published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
PY - 2021/8/15
Y1 - 2021/8/15
N2 - Membranes heavily rely on chlorination to diminish (bio)fouling, but chlorination can also lead to membrane degradation. We developed sulfonated polyaniline (S-PANI) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes with improved chlorine resistance and intrinsic antifouling properties. The S-PANI membranes were synthesized through Non-solvent Induced Phase Separation (NIPS). Membrane performance was evaluated under harsh chlorine conditions (250 ppm sodium hypochlorite for 3 days under different pH conditions). The S-PANI membranes showed improved chlorine resistance including a stable performance without changes in model foulant BSA rejection. In contrast, PANI membranes suffered critical structural damage with complete leakage and commercial PES membranes showed a 76% increase in pure water flux and a noticeable change in BSA rejection. Small changes in S-PANI membrane performance could be linked to membrane structural changes with pH, as confirmed by SEM, IR spectroscopy, and contact angle measurements. Additionally, the S-PANI membranes showed better antifouling properties with a high flux recovery ratio in comparison to PANI membranes using alginic acid, humic acid, and BSA model foulants. Chemical cleaning by sodium hypochlorite re-instated the transport properties to its initial condition. Overall, the developed S-PANI membranes have a high chlorine tolerance and enhanced antifouling properties making them promising for a range of UF membrane applications.
AB - Membranes heavily rely on chlorination to diminish (bio)fouling, but chlorination can also lead to membrane degradation. We developed sulfonated polyaniline (S-PANI) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes with improved chlorine resistance and intrinsic antifouling properties. The S-PANI membranes were synthesized through Non-solvent Induced Phase Separation (NIPS). Membrane performance was evaluated under harsh chlorine conditions (250 ppm sodium hypochlorite for 3 days under different pH conditions). The S-PANI membranes showed improved chlorine resistance including a stable performance without changes in model foulant BSA rejection. In contrast, PANI membranes suffered critical structural damage with complete leakage and commercial PES membranes showed a 76% increase in pure water flux and a noticeable change in BSA rejection. Small changes in S-PANI membrane performance could be linked to membrane structural changes with pH, as confirmed by SEM, IR spectroscopy, and contact angle measurements. Additionally, the S-PANI membranes showed better antifouling properties with a high flux recovery ratio in comparison to PANI membranes using alginic acid, humic acid, and BSA model foulants. Chemical cleaning by sodium hypochlorite re-instated the transport properties to its initial condition. Overall, the developed S-PANI membranes have a high chlorine tolerance and enhanced antifouling properties making them promising for a range of UF membrane applications.
KW - ageing
KW - mechanical properties
KW - membranes
KW - separation techniques
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85103355323&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/app.50756
DO - 10.1002/app.50756
M3 - Article
SN - 0021-8995
VL - 138
JO - Journal of Applied Polymer Science
JF - Journal of Applied Polymer Science
IS - 31
M1 - 50756
ER -