PFOM fillers embedded PVDF/cellulose dual-layered membranes with hydrophobic-hydrophilic channels for desalination via direct contact membrane distillation process

Engineered eco-friendly composite membranes with superhydrophobic/hydrophilic dual-layer for DCMD system

Considerable advancements have been made in the development of hydrophobic membranes for membrane distillation (MD). Nonetheless, the environmentally responsible disposal of these membranes poses a critical concern due to their synthetic composition. Herein, an eco-friendly dual-layered biopolymer-based membrane was fabricated for water desalination. The membrane was electrospun from two bio-polymeric layers. The top hydrophobic layer comprises polycaprolactone (PCL) and the bottom hydrophilic layer from cellulose acetate (CA). Additionally, silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) were electrosprayed onto the top layer of the dual-layered PCL/CA membrane to enhance the hydrophobicity. The desalination performance of the modified PCL-SiO2/CA membrane was compared with the unmodified PCL/CA membrane using a direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) unit. Results revealed that silica remarkably improves membrane hydrophobicity. The modified PCL-SiO2/CA membrane demonstrated a significant increase in water contact angle of 152.4° compared to 119° for the unmodified membrane. In addition, PCL-SiO2/CA membrane has a smaller average pore size of 0.23 ± 0.16 μm and an exceptional liquid entry pressure of water (LEPw), which is 3.8 times higher than that of PCL/CA membrane. Moreover, PCL-SiO2/CA membrane achieved a durable permeate flux of 15.6 kg/m2.h, while PCL/CA membrane showed unstable permeate flux decreasing approximately from 25 to 12 kg/m2.h over the DCMD test time. Furthermore, the modified PCL-SiO2/CA membrane achieved a high salt rejection value of 99.97% compared to a low value of 86.2% for the PCL/CA membrane after 24 h continuous DCMD operation. In conclusion, the proposed modified PCL-SiO2/CA dual-layer biopolymeric-based membrane has considerable potential to be used as an environmentally friendly membrane for the MD process.

Molecularly imprinted ultrasensitive cholesterol photoelectrochemical sensor based on perfluorinated organics functionalization and hollow carbon spheres anchored organic-inorganic perovskite

In spite of organic-inorganic perovskite emerging as a novel efficient light-harvesting material owing to their superior optical properties, excitonic properties, and electrical conductivity, the related applications are severely limited for their poor stability and selectivity. Herein, we introduced hollow carbon spheres (HCSs) and 2-(perfluorohexyl) ethyl methacrylate (PFEM) based molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) to dual-functionalize CH3NH3PbI3. HCSs can provide perovskite load conditions, passivate perovskite defects, increase carrier transport and effectively improve its hydrophobicity. The perfluorinated organic compound based MIPs film can not only enhance the water and oxygen stability of perovskite, but also endow it specific selectivity. Moreover, it can reduce the photoexcited electron-hole pair recombination and prolong the electron lifetime. Benefiting from the synergistic sensitization of HCSs and MIPs, an ultrasensitive photoelectrochemical platform (MIPs@CH3NH3PbI3@HCSs/ITO) for cholesterol sensing was acquired with a very wide linear range of 5.0 × 10-14-5.0 × 10-8 mol/L and an extremely low detection limit of 2.39 × 10-15 mol/L. The designed PEC sensor exhibited good selectivity and stability, as well as practicality for real sample analysis. The present work extended the development of the high-performance perovskite and showed its broad application prospect for advanced PEC construction.

CeO2@PU sandwiched in chitosan and cellulose acetate layer as Cs-CeO2@PU-CA triple-layered membrane for chromium removal

The single or blended polymer membrane lacks a few advantages based on the durability of the membrane. The novel triple-layered sandwich membrane Cs-CeO₂@PU-CA membrane is cast through the phase inversion technique for chromium removal. This approach involves an arrangement of the top layer as chitosan which acts as a protective layer, and the sandwich layer of CeO₂@PU membrane which acts as source for stability, and a supportive layer of cellulose acetate is arranged accordingly. The incorporation of cerium oxide nanoparticles into the polyurethane can create pores on the surface of the membrane due to the high aspect ratio of cerium oxide. The triple-layered arrangement shows higher porosity via water contact angle, the network of pores present on the membrane which is visible through morphology, and also the intermediate sandwich layer CeO₂@PU provided with better mechanical strength which would be significant for changes achieved in adsorption technique. The batch adsorption was carried out with various ppm of Cr(VI) solution. The effect of pH, contact time, initial concentration, and temperature were analyzed and optimized for determining efficiency of chromium removal. Furthermore, the suitable adsorption isotherm and kinetics of the system were also determined for better fit via Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Sips along with pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order. The efficiency in adsorption is due to the prominent presence of hydroxyl, carboxyl, and hydrophilic group in the prepared membrane. Thus, the resultant prepared membrane can act as a potential chromium removal substrate.

A Critical Review of Membrane Wettability in Membrane Distillation from the Perspective of Interfacial Interactions

Hydrophobic membranes used in membrane distillation (MD) systems are often subject to wetting during long-term operation. Thus, it is of great importance to fully understand factors that influence the wettability of hydrophobic membranes and their impact on the overall separation efficiency that can be achieved in MD systems. This Critical Review summarizes both fundamental and applied aspects of membrane wetting with particular emphasis on interfacial interaction between the membrane and solutes in the feed solution. First, the theoretical background of surface wetting, including the relationship between wettability and interfacial interaction, definition and measurement of contact angle, surface tension, surface free energy, adhesion force, and liquid entry pressure, is described. Second, the nature of wettability, membrane wetting mechanisms, influence of membrane properties, feed characteristics and operating conditions on membrane wetting, and evolution of membrane wetting are reviewed in the context of an MD process. Third, specific membrane features that increase resistance to wetting (e.g., superhydrophobic, omniphobic, and Janus membranes) are discussed briefly followed by the comparison of various cleaning approaches to restore membrane hydrophobicity. Finally, challenges with the prevention of membrane wetting are summarized, and future work is proposed to improve the use of MD technology in a variety of applications.