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Abstract
Here, we report the covalent coupling of poly (styrene-co-maleic anhydride) onto γ-alumina to develop high-performance organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes. A high molecular weight (M w ) alternating copolymer of maleic anhydride (MA) and styrene (St) was synthesized and directly grafted to the γ-alumina membrane, while commercially available low M w random copolymers of St and MA were also investigated. We show that solute rejection and membrane permeability strongly depend on the nature of the applied copolymer. In particular, the M w of the copolymer applied is potentially the key for improving the membrane performance. When a high M w copolymer was applied, the grafted layer covered the surface of the membrane. This results in membranes with significantly improved rejection, while maintaining a high permeability. In contrast, we observed pore grafting by applying low M w copolymers, which resulted in membranes with slightly higher rejection and dramatically lower permeability compared to unmodified membrane. The best results were obtained by grafting γ-alumina with a high M w alternating copolymer. These membranes showed a solute rejection of 98% for Sudan Black B (457 g mol −1 ) in toluene, while the permeability remained high at 2.9 L m −2 h −1 bar −1 .
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 298-306 |
Journal | Journal of Membrane Science |
Volume | 582 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 15 Jul 2019 |
Keywords
- Alumina membrane
- Copolymer grafting
- Molecular separation
- Pore modification
- Surface modification
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Projects
- 1 Active
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E-motion: Electro-motion for the sustainable recovery of high-value nutrients from waste water
1/11/16 → 31/10/21
Project: EU research project