Investigating the effect of polymer concentration and solvent of polymeric solution on the structural features of poly acrylonitrile ultrafiltration membrane

In this study, poly acrylonitrile (PAN) ultrafiltration (UF) membrane was prepared by dry-wet phase inversion method. The effects of different solvents, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and dimethylformamide (DMF), and different polymer concentrations (17-21 wt %) on the membrane structure were investigated. The membrane characteristics including pore size, bulk porosity, and permeability were measured by bubble point, water flux, and gelation time of the films in coagulation bath. The results showed that with the increase in polymer concentration up to 21 wt %, the pore size of skin layer reduces and the water flux decreases. Moreover, substituting the DMF instead DMSO in the polymer solution, the gelation time increased and subsequently pore size and bulk porosity decreased

Keywords:

Polyacrilonitrile , Ultrafiltration , Water flux , Phase inversion , Pore size