Advances in Modification of Polymer Membranes with Inorganic Nanoparticles

Abstract

Membrane separation technique is widely applied because of simple operation, high separation efficiency, and no induction of phase transformation, but it is restricted from some fields by the high pollution, low strength and small flux of polymeric membranes. Improving the performances is one major way to expand the applied fields of polymer membranes, and so far, it has been realized by introduction of inorganic hybrid nanoparticles into polymer membranes. Inorganic nanoparticles can modify the surface and structural properties and largely improve the hydrophilicity, contamination resistance and rejection performance of membranes, and thus expand the adaptability of polymer membranes. In this review, we summarized the advances in modification of polymer membranes with nanomaterials including nanoZnO, nanoAg, nanoTiO2, nanoSiO2 and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). The prospects in the future development are finally provided.