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Title: Ultrafiltration membranes from polymerization of self-assembled Pluronic block copolymer mesophases

Abstract

Industrially, ultrafiltration (UF) membranes are produced through non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS), but due to environmental hazards inherent to the NIPS process as well as the low surface porosity and fouling resistance of membranes produced via this method, an alternative route to UF membranes is desirable. Here, this work presents the self-assembly of Pluronic block copolymers in the presence of water and a monomeric phase as a new technique for the preparation of UF membranes without the need for organic solvent or post-modification. Different compositions of block copolymer, water, and monomer were polymerized to obtain both hexagonal and lamellar mesostructures, as indicated by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and cross-polarized light microscopy. As-synthesized membranes were found to have pore sizes in the range of 3–4 nm with a molecular weight cutoff of 1500 g/mol and displayed both excellent fouling resistance and high permeance of water, vastly outperforming a conventional NIPS UF membrane. Additionally, in contrast to NIPS, the proposed method provides flexibility in terms of both the final membrane chemistry and pore size. As such, it is a versatile approach that can be easily tailored to produce membranes for a wide range of applications including wastewater treatment and food processing.

Authors:
 [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [1]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States)
  2. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC). Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
OSTI Identifier:
1499371
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1636521
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-19-21645
Journal ID: ISSN 0376-7388
Grant/Contract Number:  
89233218CNA000001; AC52-06NA25396
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Membrane Science
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 580; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 0376-7388
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; Ultrafiltration membranes; Mesophase; Self-assembly; Templating

Citation Formats

Qavi, Sahar, Lindsay, Aaron P., Firestone, Millicent Anne, and Foudazi, Reza. Ultrafiltration membranes from polymerization of self-assembled Pluronic block copolymer mesophases. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2019.02.060.
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Qavi, Sahar, Lindsay, Aaron P., Firestone, Millicent Anne, & Foudazi, Reza. Ultrafiltration membranes from polymerization of self-assembled Pluronic block copolymer mesophases. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2019.02.060
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Qavi, Sahar, Lindsay, Aaron P., Firestone, Millicent Anne, and Foudazi, Reza. Wed . "Ultrafiltration membranes from polymerization of self-assembled Pluronic block copolymer mesophases". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2019.02.060. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1499371.
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@article{osti_1499371,
title = {Ultrafiltration membranes from polymerization of self-assembled Pluronic block copolymer mesophases},
author = {Qavi, Sahar and Lindsay, Aaron P. and Firestone, Millicent Anne and Foudazi, Reza},
abstractNote = {Industrially, ultrafiltration (UF) membranes are produced through non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS), but due to environmental hazards inherent to the NIPS process as well as the low surface porosity and fouling resistance of membranes produced via this method, an alternative route to UF membranes is desirable. Here, this work presents the self-assembly of Pluronic block copolymers in the presence of water and a monomeric phase as a new technique for the preparation of UF membranes without the need for organic solvent or post-modification. Different compositions of block copolymer, water, and monomer were polymerized to obtain both hexagonal and lamellar mesostructures, as indicated by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and cross-polarized light microscopy. As-synthesized membranes were found to have pore sizes in the range of 3–4 nm with a molecular weight cutoff of 1500 g/mol and displayed both excellent fouling resistance and high permeance of water, vastly outperforming a conventional NIPS UF membrane. Additionally, in contrast to NIPS, the proposed method provides flexibility in terms of both the final membrane chemistry and pore size. As such, it is a versatile approach that can be easily tailored to produce membranes for a wide range of applications including wastewater treatment and food processing.},
doi = {10.1016/j.memsci.2019.02.060},
journal = {Journal of Membrane Science},
number = C,
volume = 580,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Feb 27 00:00:00 EST 2019},
month = {Wed Feb 27 00:00:00 EST 2019}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2019.02.060
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    Works referencing / citing this record:

    Polymerization in soft nanoconfinement of lamellar and reverse hexagonal mesophases
    journal, January 2019

    • Qavi, Sahar; Bandegi, Alireza; Firestone, Millicent
    • Soft Matter, Vol. 15, Issue 41
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    Rheological characteristics of mesophases of block copolymer solutions
    journal, July 2019

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