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Mulhearn WD, Oleshko VP, Stafford CM. Thickness-Dependent Permeance of Molecular Layer-By-Layer Polyamide Membranes. J Memb Sci 2021; 618. [PMID: 34092903 DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2020.118637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
We present the thickness-dependent permeance of highly cross-linked polyamide (PA) membranes formed by a molecular layer-by-layer (mLbL) deposition process. The deposition allows for the synthesis of extremely smooth, uniform PA films of tunable thickness, which is counter to the less controlled interfacial polymerization process used commercially. The ability to control and measure the membrane thickness allows us to elucidate the relationships among network structure, transport properties, and separation performance. In this work, a series of large-area mLbL PA membranes is prepared with thickness ranging from less than 5 nm to greater than 100 nm, which can be transferred defect-free via a film floating technique onto a macroporous support layer and challenged with salt solutions. A critical thickness of 15 nm is identified for efficient desalination, and water permeance is described using a multi-layer solution diffusion model that allows for the extraction of material properties relevant to transport. Finally, the model demonstrates the existence of two distinct layers in the mLbL films, one layer comprised of a (5 to 10) nm graded or less cross-linked layer at the surface and a more densely cross-linked layer in the interior of the film. This graded layer appears inherent to the mLbL deposition process and is observed at all film thicknesses.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D Mulhearn
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA
| | - Vladimir P Oleshko
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA
| | - Christopher M Stafford
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA
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Jahan Sajib MS, Wei Y, Mishra A, Zhang L, Nomura KI, Kalia RK, Vashishta P, Nakano A, Murad S, Wei T. Atomistic Simulations of Biofouling and Molecular Transfer of a Cross-linked Aromatic Polyamide Membrane for Desalination. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2020; 36:7658-7668. [PMID: 32460500 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c01308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Reverse osmosis through a polyamide (PA) membrane is an important technique for water desalination and purification. In this study, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to study the biofouling mechanism (i.e., protein adsorption) and nonequilibrium steady-state water transfer of a cross-linked PA membrane. Our results demonstrated that the PA membrane surface's roughness is a key factor of surface's biofouling, as the lysozyme protein adsorbed on the surface's cavity site displays extremely low surface diffusivity, blocking water passage, and decreasing water flux. The adsorbed protein undergoes secondary structural changes, particularly in the pressure-driven flowing conditions, leading to strong protein-surface interactions. Our simulations were able to present water permeation close to the experimental conditions with a pressure difference as low as 5 MPa, while all the electrolytes, which are tightly surrounded by hydration water, were effectively rejected at the membrane surfaces. The analysis of the self-intermediate scattering function demonstrates that the dynamics of water molecules coordinated with hydrogen bonds is faster inside the pores than during the translation across the pores. The pressure difference applied shows a negligible effect on the water structure and content inside the membrane but facilitates the transportation of hydrogen-bonded water molecules through the membrane's sub-nanopores with a reduced coordination number. The linear relationship between the water flux and the pressure difference demonstrates the applicability of continuum hydrodynamic principles and thus the stability of the membrane structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Symon Jahan Sajib
- Chemical Engineering Department, Howard University, 2366 Sixth Street NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20059, United States
| | - Ying Wei
- School of Information Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Tan Kah Kee College, 422 Siming South Road, Zhangzhou, Fujian 363105, China
| | - Ankit Mishra
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, HED 216, Los Angeles, California 90007, United States
| | - Lin Zhang
- Engineering Research Center of Membrane and Water Treatment of MOE, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zhe Da Road, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Ken-Ichi Nomura
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, HED 216, Los Angeles, California 90007, United States
- Collaboratory for Advanced Computing and Simulations, University of Southern California, 3651 Watt Way, VHE 608, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Rajiv K Kalia
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, HED 216, Los Angeles, California 90007, United States
- Collaboratory for Advanced Computing and Simulations, University of Southern California, 3651 Watt Way, VHE 608, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Southern California, 825 Bloom Walk, ACB 439, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, 941 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Priya Vashishta
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, HED 216, Los Angeles, California 90007, United States
- Collaboratory for Advanced Computing and Simulations, University of Southern California, 3651 Watt Way, VHE 608, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Southern California, 825 Bloom Walk, ACB 439, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, 941 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Aiichiro Nakano
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, HED 216, Los Angeles, California 90007, United States
- Collaboratory for Advanced Computing and Simulations, University of Southern California, 3651 Watt Way, VHE 608, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Southern California, 825 Bloom Walk, ACB 439, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, 941 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, 3616 Trousdale Parkway, AHF 107, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Sohail Murad
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, 10 West 35th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60616, United States
| | - Tao Wei
- Chemical Engineering Department, Howard University, 2366 Sixth Street NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20059, United States
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Kupgan G, Abbott LJ, Hart KE, Colina CM. Modeling Amorphous Microporous Polymers for CO2 Capture and Separations. Chem Rev 2018; 118:5488-5538. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.7b00691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Grit Kupgan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- George & Josephine Butler Polymer Research Laboratory, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- Center for Macromolecular Science & Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
| | - Lauren J. Abbott
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Kyle E. Hart
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Coray M. Colina
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- George & Josephine Butler Polymer Research Laboratory, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- Center for Macromolecular Science & Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
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9
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Zimudzi TJ, Feldman KE, Sturnfield JF, Roy A, Hickner MA, Stafford CM. Quantifying Carboxylic Acid Concentration in Model Polyamide Desalination Membranes via Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Macromolecules 2018; 51:10.1021/acs.macromol.8b01194. [PMID: 30983631 PMCID: PMC6459611 DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.8b01194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Carboxylic acid groups impart hydrophilicity and ionizable moieties to polyamide membranes for desalination, hence influencing water and ion transport through the material. Model polyamide films were synthesized via molecular layer-by-layer deposition on planar substrates to study the formation process of these materials and overcome the chemical and topological inhomogeneity inherent to conventional interfacially polymerized polyamide membranes. The carboxylic acid content in these model films was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy by quantifying the C=O band at 1718 cm-1. The concentration of carboxylic acid groups decreased as the thickness of the membrane increased, suggestive of an increase in crosslink density as the polyamide network develops. For the thinnest molecular layer-by-layer (mLbL) samples, the carboxylic acid concentration for films on gold was 0.35 mmol g-1, whereas analogous films on silicon had an acid content of 0.56 mmol g-1, indicating a clear influence of the substrate on the initial network formation. As the thickness of the membrane increased, the influence of the substrate and initial layer growth became less significant as the carboxylic acid concentration on both substrates reached a value of 0.12 mmol g-1. We demonstrate that FTIR spectroscopy is a practical and accessible way to quantify the carboxylic acid content in these types of extremely thin polyamide membranes to help quantify network formation in these materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tawanda J. Zimudzi
- Materials Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Kathleen E. Feldman
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA
| | - James F. Sturnfield
- Engineering and Process Sciences, Process Optimization, The Dow Chemical Company, Freeport, Texas 77541, USA
| | - Abhishek Roy
- Dow Water and Process Solutions, The Dow Chemical Company, Edina, Minnesota 55439, USA
| | - Michael A. Hickner
- Materials Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Christopher M. Stafford
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA
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Byeon M, Lee E, Park JW. Precise Solution-Based Deposition of Ultrathin Covalent Molecular Networks by Layer-by-Layer Cross-Linking Polymerization of Tetra- and Bifunctional Amine/Isocyanate Pairs. Macromolecules 2017. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.7b00600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Minseon Byeon
- School of Materials Science
and Engineering and Research Institute for Solar and Sustainable Energies, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Korea
| | - Eunhye Lee
- School of Materials Science
and Engineering and Research Institute for Solar and Sustainable Energies, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Korea
| | - Ji-Woong Park
- School of Materials Science
and Engineering and Research Institute for Solar and Sustainable Energies, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Korea
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