Abstract
Polysulfone (PSF) membranes are widely used for water filtration, however, their hydrophobic nature limits their application in oil-water separation. Herein, we report on the preparation of hydrophilic, high-flux and mechanically-stable PSF-based nanofiber membrane. The membrane was fabricated via electrospinning of a PSF solution containing iron acetate powder followed by deposition of a polyamide (PA) layer using interfacial polymerization on both sides of the membrane. This treatment resulted in switching membrane from being hydrophobic (contact angle = 100 ± 7°) to be highly hydrophilic (contact angle = 37 ± 5°) and the membrane porosity reached up to 83 ± 7 % after the deposition of the PA layer. Results from field emission electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (FESEM-EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed the unique nanofiber characteristics with uniform iron distributions. The new membranes have also improved mechanical properties as indicated by Young's modulus and mechanical strength. In addition, the membranes efficiently separated water from oil-water mixtures and the water flux of the modified membrane was three times higher than the unmodified PSF membrane in this study and also higher than previously reported membranes.
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