(646c) Design and Construction of Antifouling and Self-Cleaning Membranes Surfaces

Zhongyi Jiang*, Yanlei Su, Wenjuan Chen, Jinming Peng, Xueting Zhao

[*]   Prof. Z. Y. Jiang

Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, P.R.China

E-mail: zhyjiang@tju.edu.cn; suyanlei@tju.edu.cn; divinechwj@163.com; pjmlwy@126.com; zhaoxt365@gmail.com

Abstract

Membrane fouling constitutes a bottleneck limiting the wide application of membrane filtration technology in the environmental protection, biological pharmaceutical, food processing as well as water treatment industries.

Theoretically, constructing porous membrane surfaces faces more severe challenges compared with nonporous surfaces due to the additional requirements of ensuring three-dimensional functionalization and avoiding sacrifice of membrane separation performance. In recent years, the surface segregation method emerges as more popular method compared with surface grafting for fabricating more efficacious antifouling brush layer, achieving in-situ and three-dimensional surface modification (including membrane surface and internal pores) during the non-solvent induced phase separation membrane formation process.

Compared with the traditional hydrophilic antifouling membrane surfaces, amphiphilic membrane surfaces engineered by the “forced surface segregation” method were demonstrated to exhibit ultralow membrane fouling. The amphiphilic antifouling surfaces bearing a mixed brush architecture comprised both hydrophilic blocks and low surface energy blocks. Hydrophilic blocks generated fouling resistant hydration layers; whereas low surface energy blocks formed amounts of non-adhesive microdomians randomly distributing on the membrane surfaces, which played major role in repulsing the foulants away from the surfaces with the assistance of near-surface agitation, thus endowing the surfaces with outstanding fouling release potential. During the dynamic filtration process, the fouling resistant ability impeded the irreversible flux decline; the fouling release ability prevented the coalescence, migration and spreading of the holistic hydrophobic oil droplets, remarkably reducing or even eliminating the reversible flux decline. This review will present the design and construction of antifouling and self-cleaning membrane surfaces.