Polymeric Composite Membranes with Oriented Nanochannels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current nanoporous membranes face challenges in achieving high permeability and selectivity while also having poor biofouling resistance, which limits their effectiveness in applications such as wastewater treatment and desalination.
Innovation Solution
A polymer membrane with hexagonally packed cylindrical fibers, crosslinked internally and arranged to provide channels for fluid flow, is developed, using a surfactant monomer like [2-(acryloyloxy) ethyl] tetradecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide, which forms a thin film composite membrane with a porous support layer, enhancing permeability and selectivity without compromising biofouling resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional nanoporous membranes are used to achieve high permeability, then water flow rate is improved, but selectivity and biofouling resistance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite membrane structure combining a dense polymeric selective layer with a porous support layer. The selective layer uses self-assembled block copolymers or liquid crystalline materials with controlled nanoscale domains to achieve both high permeability and selectivity, while the porous support provides mechanical strength and additional flow pathways, resolving the contradiction between permeability and selectivity/biofouling resistance
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes porous membranes with controlled pore structures, specifically using self-assembled materials that create uniform nanoscale pores through phase separation. The porous support layer and the nanoscale porous structure of the selective layer work together to maintain high water flux while providing size-based selectivity and resistance to biofouling through optimized pore architecture
2Reliability
If membrane density is increased to improve selectivity, then solute rejection is improved, but permeability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a thin selective layer with specific nanoscale pore structures optimized for solute rejection, while the bulk support layer maintains high porosity for water transport. The self-assembled block copolymer or liquid crystalline selective layer provides localized size-based selectivity at the nanoscale, while the porous support layer provides bulk permeability, resolving the contradiction between selectivity and permeability
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The membrane achieves high water permeation rates and selective solute rejection, maintaining structural integrity and biofouling resistance, making it suitable for efficient nanofiltration applications.
Implementation Method 1
some block copolymers (BCPs) and small molecule liquid crystals (LCs) may be able to self-assemble into a series of mesophase morphologies possessing periodic nanoscale domains
Implementation Method 2
cylindrical polymer fibers at least partially ordered as hexagonal packed cylinders within the film, aligned parallel to the film surface, and present as an H1 mesophase
Implementation Method 3
The monomer is then polymerized, for example by exposure to UV light in the presence of a photoinitiator
Implementation Method 4
Nanofiltration (NF) involves the removal of dissolved or suspended solutes ranging from 1-10 nm in size
Implementation Method 5
The well-ordered nanostructures found in such BCPs and LCs, including cylinders, lamellae, and gyroids, have been considered as attractive templates for the fabrication of nanoporous membranes
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a polymer membrane, film or coating comprising cylindrical polymer fibers at least partially ordered as hexagonal packed cylinders within the film, aligned parallel to the film surface, and present as an H1 mesophase; wherein the cylinders are crosslinked internally within the cylinders; and wherein the cylinders are spatially arranged to provide channels between the cylinders for fluid flow through the membrane, film or coating.