Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2013, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (12): 2592-2598.doi: 10.3866/PKU.WHXB201310291

• SOFT MATTER • Previous Articles     Next Articles

In situ Preparation and Antifouling Performance of ZrO2/PVDF Hybrid Membrane

PANG Rui-Zhi, LI Xin, LI Jian-Sheng, LU Zhuang-Yu, HUANG Cheng, SUN Xiu-Yun, WANG Lian-Jun   

  1. School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, P. R. China
  • Received:2013-06-24 Revised:2013-10-28 Published:2013-11-28
  • Contact: LI Jian-Sheng, WANG Lian-Jun E-mail:lijsh@mail.njust.edu.cn;wanglj@mail.njust.edu.cn
  • Supported by:

    The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51278247).

Abstract:

Polymers used in porous membrane manufacture are highly susceptible to adsorption of organic foulants. In this study, a new method for in situ preparation of a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) based hybrid membrane is reported. The strategy in this method is to combine an ion-exchange process with a traditional immersion precipitation process. A hydrous ZrO2 sol was synthesized by the addition of anion-exchange resin to N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) containing zirconyl chloride. A homogeneous ZrO2/PVDF casting solution was then obtained by dissolving PVDF in the ZrO2 sol. The presence and dispersion states of ZrO2 nanoparticles in the resultant membrane matrix were determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicate that the ZrO2 nanoparticles were well dispersed throughout the PVDF matrix, and the size of the formed nanoparticles was about 10-20 nm. The membrane formation mechanism was investigated based on the viscosity, precipitation kinetics, and membrane morphology. The results indicate that the introduction of ZrO2 nanoparticles accelerates phase inversion of the casting solution. The membrane hydrophilicity was determined using contact angle measurements. The antifouling properties were examined using antifouling experiments. The results confirm that the presence of ZrO2 nanoparticles improves the membrane hydrophilicity and reduces protein adsorption on the membrane. This method for in situ preparation of ZrO2/PVDF hybrid membranes by combining an ion-exchange process with a traditional immersion precipitation process is valuable in the fabrication and applications of organic-inorganic hybrid membranes.

Key words: PVDF membrane, In situ preparation, Ion-exchange, ZrO2 sol, Sol-gel process