Synthesis of functional hydrophilic polyethersulfone-based electrospun nanofibrous membranes for water treatment

Issa Sulaiman Al-Husaini, Woei Jye Lau, Abdull Rahim Mohd Yusoff*, Mohammed Zaher Al-Abri*, Basim Abdullah Al Farsi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The current study presents the synthesis and characterization of new ultrafiltration (UF) electrospun nanofibrous membranes (ENMs) combined with hydrophilic polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) for particular use in water purification. Three approaches were used to enhance the physicochemical properties of the typical ENMs. In the first strategy, n-methyl-pyrrolidinone (NMP) was mixed with dimethylformamide (DMF) during dope solution preparation wherein the mixed solvent could play a role in enhancing inter-fiber junctions. In the next strategy, PVP was added to the ENMs to enhance their water production. The final treatment was utilizing hot pressing on the resultant electrospun mat to strengthen its structure. Compared to pristine ENMs, the tensile strength and the elongation-at-break of the hot pressed ENMs were improved by 4.12 % and 9.09 %, respectively. However, the introduction of PVP into the ENMs was found to be significant in decreasing water contact angle by 50.8 % (from 123.27° to 60.66°), revealing a significant improvement in the membrane hydrophilicity. The ENMs also exhibited excellent water productivity of over 2996 L/m2h under gravitational force. It was observed that the hot pressed ENMs have smaller pore diameter (77.47 nm) in comparison to the pristine ENMs (97.15 nm). The enhanced mechanical and hydrophilic characteristics of the prepared ENMs showed high applicability to water treatment.

Original languageEnglish
Article number104728
JournalJournal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
Volume9
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2021

Keywords

  • Electrospun nanofibrous membranes
  • Hot pressed technique
  • Hydrophilicity
  • Ultrafiltration
  • Water contact angle

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Chemical Engineering (miscellaneous)
  • Waste Management and Disposal
  • Pollution
  • Process Chemistry and Technology

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