Mesoporous phenolics filled in macroporous membranes for tunable tight-ultrafiltration. (21st September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lan, Qianqian; Wang, Zhaogen; Wang, Yong
• Is Part Of: Chemical engineering science. Volume 187(2018)
• Page Start: 98
• Page End: 106
• Publication Date: 2018-09-21
• Subjects: Tight ultrafiltration -- Mesoporous membranes -- Phenolic -- Chemical stability -- Pore filling; Chemical engineering -- Periodicals; Génie chimique -- Périodiques; Chemical engineering; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 660
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2018.04.038
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0009-2509

Abstract

Highlights: Tight ultrafiltration (TUF) membranes are prepared by a new pore-filling strategy. Fluidizable supramolecular films are filled into macropores of substrates. Pluronic templates are removed by acid soaking to create mesopores. TUF capacity is widely tunable by changing the filling depths of supramolecules. Membranes can separate ultra-small colloids in aggressive solvents. Abstract: Separation of colloidal nanoparticulates requires tight ultrafiltration (TUF) membranes. Phenolic polymers with well-defined sub-10 nm mesopores are promising candidates for such membranes, but suffer from intrinsic fragility. Herein, robust mesoporous phenolic membranes with flexibly adjustable TUF functions are realized through a new pore-filling strategy. Phenolic prepolymers with tunable fluidity are spontaneously filled into macroporous substrates with precisely controllable filling depths. Subsequent thermopolymerization fully cures the prepolymer and acid soaking removes the templating pluronic copolymers, producing composite TUF membranes with mesoporous phenolics embedded in flexible substrates. The membranes exhibit widely adjustable molecular-weight-cut-offs (MWCOs) (2.6–41 kg/mol) depending on the filling depth of phenolics while maintain otherwise unattainable high permeabilities. We further investigate the separation of CdTe and carbon quantum dots dispersed in water and toluene by these membranes, and they show excellent concentration and fractionation effect. This work enables efficient separation of ultra-small colloids by robust TUF membranes.