Towards a High-Flux Separation Layer from Hexagonal Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Thin-Film Composite Membranes
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Materials
2.2. Characterizations
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Structure Characterization for Free-Standing HLLC Template Membrane
3.2. Structure and Property Characterization for HLLC Template-Based Thin-Film Composite
3.3. Discussion
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Warsinger, D.M.; Chakraborty, S.; Tow, E.W.; Plumlee, M.H.; Bellona, C.; Loutatidou, S.; Karimi, L.; Mikelonis, A.M.; Achilli, A.; Ghassemi, A. A review of polymeric membranes and processes for potable water reuse. Prog. Polym. Sci. 2018, 81, 209–237. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- We Wen, Q.; Yan, D.; Liu, F.; Wang, M.; Ling, Y.; Wang, P.; Kluth, P.; Schauries, D.; Trautmann, C.; Apel, P. Highly selective ionic transport through subnanometer pores in polymer films. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2016, 26, 5796–5803. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Fujioka, T.; Oshima, N.; Suzuki, R.; Price, W.E.; Nghiem, L.D. Probing the internal structure of reverse osmosis membranes by positron annihilation spectroscopy: Gaining more insight into the transport of water and small solutes. J. Membr. Sci. 2015, 486, 106–118. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Lau, W.J.; Ismail, A.F.; Goh, P.S.; Hilal, N.J.; Ooi, B.S. Characterization methods of thin film composite nanofiltration membranes. Sep. Purif. Rev. 2015, 44, 135–156. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Liu, C.; Shi, L.; Wang, R. Enhanced hollow fiber membrane performance via semi-dynamic layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte inner surface deposition for nanofiltration and forward osmosis applications. React. Funct. Polym. 2015, 86, 154–160. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ben-Sasson, M.; Lu, X.; Bar-Zeev, E.; Zodrow, K.R.; Nejati, S.; Qi, G.; Giannclis, E.P.; Elimelech, M. In situ formation of silver nanoparticles on thin-film composite reverse osmosis membranes for biofouling mitigation. Water Res. 2014, 62, 260–270. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Goh, P.S.; Matsuura, T.; Ismail, A.F.; Hilal, N. Recent trends in membranes and membrane processes for desalination. Desalination 2016, 391, 43–60. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Meng, H.; Mi, B. Layer-by-layer assembly of graphene oxide membranes via electrostatic interaction. J. Membr. Sci. 2014, 469, 80–87. [Google Scholar]
- Nguyen, T.; Roddick, F.A.; Fan, L. Biofouling of water treatment membranes: A review of the underlying causes, monitoring techniques and control measures. Membranes 2012, 2, 804–840. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Rahaman, M.S.; Thérien-Aubin, H.; Ben-Sasson, M.; Ober, C.K.; Nielsen, M.; Elimelech, M. Control of biofouling on reverse osmosis polyamide membranes modified with biocidal nanoparticles and antifouling polymer brushes. J. Mater. Chem. B 2014, 2, 1724–1732. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Sayed, S.; Tarek, S.; Dijkstra, I.; Moerman, C. Optimum operation conditions of direct capillary nanofiltration for wastewater treatment. Desalination 2007, 214, 215–226. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Farsi, A.; Jensen, S.H.; Roslev, P.; Boffa, V.; Christensen, M.L. Inorganic membranes for the recovery of effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plants. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2015, 54, 3462–3472. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kramer, F.C.; Shang, R.; Heijman, S.G.J.; Scherrenberg, S.M.; Lier, J.B.; Rietveld, L.C. Direct water reclamation from sewage using ceramic tight ultra- and nanofiltration. Sep. Purif. Technol. 2015, 147, 329–336. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Feng, X.; Imran, Q.; Zhang, Y.; Sixdenier, L.; Lu, X.; Kaufman, G.; Gabinet, U.; Kawabata, K.; Elimelech, M.; Osuji, C.O. Precise nanofiltration in a fouling-resistant self-assembled membrane with water-continuous transport pathways. Sci. Adv. 2019, 5, eaav9308. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Feng, X.; Kawabata, K.; Kaufman, G.; Elimelech, M.; Osuji, C.O. Highly selective vertically aligned nanopores in sustainably derived polymer membranes by molecular templating. ACS Nano 2017, 11, 3911–3921. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Feng, X.; Tousley, M.E.; Cowan, M.G.; Wiesenauer, B.R.; Nejati, S.; Choo, Y.; Noble, R.D.; Elimelech, M.; Gin, D.L.; Osuji, C.O. Scalable fabrication of polymer membranes with vertically aligned 1 nm pores by magnetic field directed self-assembly. ACS Nano 2014, 8, 11977–11986. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hatakeyama, E.S.; Gabriel, C.J.; Wiesenauer, B.R.; Lohr, J.L.; Zhou, M.; Noble, R.D.; Gin, D.L. Water filtration performance of a lyotropic liquid crystal polymer membrane with uniform, sub-1-nm pores. J. Membr. Sci. 2011, 366, 62–72. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Marets, N.; Kuo, D.; Torrey, J.R.; Sakamoto, T.; Henmi, M.; Katayama, H.; Kato, T. Highly efficient virus rejection with self-organized membranes based on a crosslinked bicontinuous cubic liquid crystal. Adv. Healthcare Mater. 2017, 6, 1700252. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhou, M.; Nemade, P.R.; Lu, X.; Zeng, X.; Hatakeyama, E.S.; Noble, R.D.; Gin, D.L. New type of membrane material for water desalination based on a cross-linked bicontinuous cubic lyotropic liquid crystal assembly. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 9574–9575. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kloos, J.; Joosten, N.; Schenning, A.; Nijmeijer, K. Self-assembling liquid crystals as building blocks to design nanoporous membranes suitable for molecular separations. J. Membr. Sci. 2020, 620, 118849. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Vallooran, J.J.; Negrini, R.; Mezzenga, R. Controlling anisotropic drug diffusion in lipid-Fe3O4 nanoparticle hybrid mesophases by magnetic alignment. Langmuir 2013, 29, 999–1004. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Vallooran, J.J.; Bolisetty, S.; Mezzenga, R. Macroscopic alignment of lyotropic liquid crystals using magnetic nanoparticles. Adv. Mater. 2011, 23, 3932–3937. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Mauter, M.S.; Elimelech, M.; Osuji, C.O. Nanocomposites of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes by magnetic alignment and polymerization of a lyotropic precursor. ACS Nano 2010, 4, 6651–6658. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Firouzi, A.; Schaefer, D.J.; Tolbert, S.H.; Stuchy, G.D.; Chmelka, B.F. Magnetic-Field-Induced orientational ordering of alkaline lyotropic silicate surfactant liquid crystals. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1997, 119, 9466–9477. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Wang, G.; Garvey, C.J.; Gu, S.; Gao, W.; O’Dell, L.A.; Krause-Heuer, A.M.; Darwish, T.A.; Zhigunov, A.; Tong, X.; Kong, L. Controlling phase and rheological behaviours of hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystalline templates for nanostructural administration and retention. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2022, 607, 816–825. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Tian, M.; Qiu, C.; Liao, Y.; Chou, S.; Wang, R. Preparation of polyamide thin film composite forward osmosis membranes using electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers as substrates. Sep. Purif. Technol. 2013, 118, 727–736. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lau, W.J.; Ismail, A.F.; Misdan, N.; Kassim, M.A. A recent progress in thin film composite membrane: A review. Desalination 2012, 287, 190–199. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Zhang, Q.; Zhang, Z.; Dai, L.; Wang, H.; Li, S.; Zhang, S. Novel insights into the interplay between support and active layer in the thin film composite polyamide membranes. J. Membr. Sci. 2017, 537, 372–383. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ang, M.B.M.Y.; Luo, Z.Y.; Marquez, J.A.D.; Tsai, H.A.; Huang, S.H.; Hung, W.S.; Hu, C.C.; Lee, K.R.; Lai, J.Y. Merits of using cellulose triacetate as a substrate in producing thin-film composite nanofiltration polyamide membranes with ultra-high performance. J. Taiwan Inst. Chem. Eng. 2020, 112, 251–258. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Jiang, Z.; Karan, S.; Livingston, A.G. Water transport through ultrathin polyamide nanofilms used for reverse osmosis. Adv. Mater. 2018, 30, 1705973. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kong, X.; Zhou, M.Y.; Lin, C.E.; Wang, J.; Zhao, B.; Wei, X.Z.; Zhu, B.K. Polyamide/PVC based composite hollow fiber nanofiltration membranes: Effect of substrate on properties and performance. J. Membr. Sci. 2016, 505, 231–240. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gao, J.; Sun, S.P.; Zhu, W.P.; Chung, T.S. Polyethyleneimine (PEI) cross-linked P84 nanofiltration (NF) hollow fiber membranes for Pb2+ removal. J. Membr. Sci. 2014, 452, 300–310. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Jiang, C.; Tian, L.; Zhai, Z.; Shen, Y.; Dong, W.; He, M.; Hou, Y.; Niu, Q.J. Thin-film composite membranes with aqueous template-induced surface nanostructures for enhanced nanofiltration. J. Membr. Sci. 2019, 589, 117244. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kim, H.I.; Kim, S.S. Plasma treatment of polypropylene and polysulfone supports for thin film composite reverse osmosis membrane. J. Membr. Sci. 2006, 286, 193–201. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhang, J.; Xie, Z.; Hill, A.J.; She, F.H.; Thornton, A.W.; Hoang, M.; Kong, L.X. Structure retention in cross-linked poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate hydrogel templated from a hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystal by controlling the surface tension. Soft Matter 2012, 8, 2087–2094. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Wang, Z.; Wang, Z.; Lin, S.; Jin, H.; Gao, S.; Zhu, Y.; Jin, J. Nanoparticle-templated nanofiltration membranes for ultrahigh performance desalination. Nat. Commun. 2018, 9, 2004. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Tyler, A.I.; Law, R.; Seddon, J. X-ray diffraction of lipid model membranes. In Methods in Membrane Lipids; Owen, D.M., Ed.; Springer: New York, NY, USA, 2015; Volume 1232, pp. 199–225. [Google Scholar]
- Thundathil, R.; Stoffer, J.O.; Friberg, S.E. Polymerization in lyotropic liquid crystals. I. Change of structure during polymerization. J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Chem. Ed. 2010, 18, 2629–2640. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Tate, M.W.; Gruner, S.M. Temperature dependence of the structural dimensions of the inverted hexagonal (HII) phase of phosphatidylethanolamine-containing membranes. Biochemistry 1989, 28, 4245–4253. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Depierro, M.A.; Guymon, C.A. Polymer structure development in lyotropic liquid crystalline solutions. Macromolecules 2014, 47, 5728–5738. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Samples | a (Å) | b (Å) | c (Å) | d (Å) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Free-standing HLLC mixture | 28.3 ± 0.06 | 33.5 ± 0.06 | 24.1 ± 0.02 | 28.6 ± 0.04 |
HLLC mixture/hydrophilic PVDF | 28.3 ± 0.07 | 31.6 ± 0.03 | 24.1 ± 0.03 | 26.9 ± 0.01 |
HLLC mixture/hydrophobic PVDF | 28.6 ± 0.07 | 31.8 ± 0.03 | 24.4 ± 0.02 | 27.1 ± 0.01 |
Samples | Pressure (bar) | Cross Flow Flux (L/h) | Flux (L/m2⸳h) |
---|---|---|---|
Hydrophilic PVDF (blank) | 5 | 35 | 17,822 ± 892 |
Hydrophobic PVDF (blank) | 5 | 35 | 15,191 ± 773 |
HLLC mixture/hydrophilic PVDF after polymerization | 5 | 35 | 517 ± 53 |
HLLC mixture/hydrophobic PVDF after polymerization | 5 | 35 | 720 ± 60 |
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. |
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Gu, S.; Yuan, B.; Bai, B.; Tong, X.; O’Dell, L.A.; Wang, D.; Kong, L.; Wang, G. Towards a High-Flux Separation Layer from Hexagonal Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Thin-Film Composite Membranes. Membranes 2021, 11, 842. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11110842
Gu S, Yuan B, Bai B, Tong X, O’Dell LA, Wang D, Kong L, Wang G. Towards a High-Flux Separation Layer from Hexagonal Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Thin-Film Composite Membranes. Membranes. 2021; 11(11):842. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11110842
Chicago/Turabian StyleGu, Senlin, Bao Yuan, Bo Bai, Xin Tong, Luke A. O’Dell, Dong Wang, Lingxue Kong, and Guang Wang. 2021. "Towards a High-Flux Separation Layer from Hexagonal Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Thin-Film Composite Membranes" Membranes 11, no. 11: 842. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11110842