New Class of Synthetic Membranes: Organophilic Pervaporation Brushes for Organics Recovery

作者：Grimaldi Joseph; Imbrogno Joseph; Kilduff James; Belfort Georges^*

来源：Chemistry of Materials, 2015, 27(11): 4142-4148.

DOI：10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b01326

Isolating and concentrating volatile organics such as fuels and intermediate chemicals from aqueous solutions is important for environmental synthesis and processing. We have prepared a new class of easy-to-synthesize polymeric membranes comprising hydrophobic brush-like structures as a selective layer, and have tested them using pervaporation of isobutanol from water. These brush structures were prepared by graft-induced polymerization of hydrophobic vinyl monomers from light-sensitive poly(ether sulfone) nanofiltration support membranes (grafting from) without initiating agents. Graft-induced tethered polymer chains with multiple C18 alkane side-chains out-performed the industry gold standard silicone rubber membrane with selectivities of alpha = 10.1 +/- 0.9 and 6.7 +/- 0.1, respectively, at comparable permeation fluxes of 0.7-1.0 +/- 0.1 L/m(2)-h. Preparation of these brush membranes is simpler and easier to scale-up than current methods of preparing asymmetric and composite membrane structures. These brush structures and this method of preparation have excellent potential for synthesizing selective membranes suitable for large-scale organic-water separations.

• 出版日期2015-6-9