Fabrication and Characterization of Electrospun Polysulfone (PSf) / Halloysite (HAL) Nanocomposite Membrane

Abstract

Polysulfone (PSf) is one of the commonly used polymeric membrane materials due to its excellent properties. One of the major concern however is that PSf membranes are mostly hydrophobic in nature. The presence of fillers like halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) into the polymer matrix can decrease this hydrophobicity and may also alter some of its important properties. This study focused on the fabrication of nanofibrous membranes by electrospinning method and characterization using SEM, UTM and contact angle goniometer to determine the effect of HNT concentration to the membrane’s surface morphology, mechanical properties and wettability. Results showed that samples subjected at the highest voltage produced finer fibers. The initial addition of HNTs also creates fiber strands with smaller diameters until beading in the fibers due to perturbation of the polymer jet caused by the increased viscosity of the solution and particle agglomeration was observed at higher concentrations. In terms of response to mechanical load, the tensile strength was higher upon HNT integration showing an effective transfer of stress to the dispersed phase despite the morphological imperfections. The contact angle results showed a decrease in hydrophobicity at the highest HNT concentration reflecting the water-loving character of the filler. The overall data gathered showed that the addition of nanoclay improved the properties of PSf matrix making them a suitable material for different filtration applications particularly in water treatment systems.