(671f) Fabrication of Hybrid Membranes with High Performance By Magnetic Alignment of in Situ Synthesized Fe3O4 Nanoparticles within Chitosan Matrix

Authors: Zhongyi Jiang, Cuihong Zhao, Ruisi Xing, Jing Zhao, Fusheng Pan*, Hong wu

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

Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin 300072, China

[*]   Corresponding author and presenter: fspan@tju.edu.cn

Abstract Inspired by the pearl-like alignment of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in magnetotactic bacteria, chitosan (CS)-Fe₃O₄ hybrid membranes were fabricated by the combination of infiltration method and magnetic alignment method. Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were in situ synthesized in the confined space of cross-linked CS networks and aligned by external magnetic field. The fabricated hybrid membranes were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, FT-IR. The pearl-like bead of in situ synthesized Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in the transmembrane direction were observed in the membranes. The Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles could decrease the crystallinity of adjacent CS matrix, facilitate the generation of free-volume cavities at the interface region and increase the spaces available for diffusion. The pervaporation measurements of the water/ethanol mixture indicated that the transmembrane channels composed of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles and adjacent polymer could enhance the permeability of the membranes, but decrease the separation factors slightly. This study showed a facile strategy for aligning the inorganic components in the hybrid membranes to acquire high separation performance.

Key words Hybrid membranes, Magnetic alignment, Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, Pervaporation.