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Surface Modification of Polysulfone Membranes Using Poly(Acrylic Acid)‐Decorated Alumina Nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Ghaemi Negin,
Daraei Parisa,
Palani Shiva
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
chemical engineering and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-4125
pISSN - 0930-7516
DOI - 10.1002/ceat.201700124
Subject(s) - polysulfone , membrane , materials science , acrylic acid , chemical engineering , contact angle , nanoparticle , surface modification , polymer , fouling , scanning electron microscope , polymer chemistry , composite material , chemistry , copolymer , nanotechnology , engineering , biochemistry
Alumina nanoparticles were decorated with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) as a hydrophilic polymer by thermal polymerization of acrylic acid in the presence of alumina nanoparticles. The obtained PAA‐decorated alumina (PAA‐d‐Al) nanoparticles were embedded in the polysulfone membrane matrix via nanofiller dispersion in the casting solution. The prepared membranes were characterized by porosity and water contact angle measurements, scanning electron and atomic force microscopy, and fouling tests using whey proteins. The presence of nanoparticles had significant effects on the membrane hydrophilicity and surface softness, resulting in fouling mitigation and flux recovery enhancement compared with the virgin polysulfone membrane. Moreover, the prepared membrane embedded with 0.25 wt % of PAA‐d‐Al nanofillers showed a remarkable durability and reusability during the filtration tests.