Analysis on the Influence of O-MMT in the Properties and Bacterial Count of PVDF Nanocomposite Membrane

Abstract

Polymer nanocomposites have become an exciting field of research and have attracted interest in both academia and industry. In this study, the addition of Organo-Montmorillonite (O-MMT),an ideal polymer filler due to its non-toxicity, large availability, well-known intercalation/exfoliation chemistry, and reactivity in Poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane, a widely used polymer in separation fields owing to its remarkable mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties produced via non-solvent induced phased separation is observed. Presence of both polymers were confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). These membranes were subjected to Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) which revealed addition of the filler reduced the porosity and further increasing O-MMT’s concentration led to a relatively smoother membrane. Influence of O-MMT in the porosity made no uniform trend however reduction in pore sizes was observed. Membranes were able to elongate at an average of 80% of its original length however tensile strength of the membranes all showed brittleness behavior of the films. Sterility Bacterial count also revealed that there are no infiltration colonies in the membranes. Analysis of the study further showed other factors that needs to be accounted since they were observed to highly affect the structure and properties of the membranes.