| 1. |
- Wang, Qian, et al.
(författare)
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Annealing of grain-like poly (vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) membranes with a single-crystalline electroactive phase and high anti-fouling activity
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Membrane Science. - : Elsevier. - 0376-7388 .- 1873-3123. ; 644
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Electroactive membranes are attracting attention due to their piezo-, pyro-, and ferro-electric properties. Here we report the fabrication of electroactive membranes from poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) P(VDF-TrFE), i.e. co-polymers of vinylidene fluoride and trifluoroethylene. A new P(VDF-TrFE)/Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/Dimethylacetamide (DMAc)/water system was used to tailor the membranes’ structure. Since hot treatment in the air could induce defect on membrane structure (i.e., fracture, shrinkage, and rolling), the annealing was conducted in the glycerin. Thanks to the high boiling point and moderate surface tension of glycerin, the integrity of P(VDF-TrFE) membranes was preserved during the annealing process. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy experiments revealed that the relative abundance of the β–crystalline phase increased with the annealing temperature when the latter was above the Curie temperature. P(VDF-TrFE) membranes annealed at 130 °C exhibited high crystallinity with grain-like surface, which resulted from multiple stacks of edge-on lamellae, and possessed excellent physicochemical properties of filtration. The anti-fouling performance of pristine and annealed P(VDF-TrFE) membranes was tested by dead-end filtration with a 13.5 mg/L humic acid (HA) solution. Annealed P(VDF-TrFE) membranes achieved greater fluxes and had superior anti-fouling properties, which was attributed to the weaker hydrophobic attraction between HA and the aligned β–phase crystals. This work provides a facile method for designing highly crystalline P(VDF-TrFE) membranes with potential applications in filtration systems, smart wearable devices, and medicine.
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| 2. |
- Ismail, Norafiqah, et al.
(författare)
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Dibasic esters as green solvents for PVDF membrane preparation
- 2023
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Ingår i: Green Chemistry. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 1463-9262 .- 1463-9270. ; 25:18, s. 7259-7272
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Solvent toxicity is a major barrier to sustainable fabrication of polymeric membranes. This study introduces three dibasic esters (DBEs) as alternative membrane fabrication solvents that are biodegradable, non-carcinogenic, non-corrosive, and non-hazardous. The use of DBEs in fabrication processes shifts the monotectic point in the phase diagram of PVDF/solvent systems towards higher polymer concentrations, enabling membrane formation by liquid–liquid phase inversion to produce a bicontinuous structure that confers outstanding performance. The best-performing membrane prepared in this way had an exceptional flux of 42.40 kg m−2 h−1 and a high rejection rate (>99%) in the decontamination of synthetic nuclear wastewater. Compared to membranes prepared previously using toxic and non-toxic solvents, membranes fabricated in DBEs exhibited superior mechanical performance due to their bicontinuous structure, which effectively distributes external forces throughout the membrane. Moreover, DBEs are cheaper than toxic conventional solvents and are readily available in bulk, making them attractive options for industrial-scale membrane production.
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