title: FAS Grafted Electrospun Poly(vinyl alcohol) Nanofiber Membranes with Robust Superhydrophobicity for Membrane Distillation.
abstract: This study develops a novel type of electrospun nanofiber membranes (ENMs) with high permeability and robust superhydrophobicity for membrane distillation (MD) process by mimicking the unique unitary microstructures of ramee leaves. The superhydrophobic ENMs were fabricated by the eletrospinning of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), followed by chemical cross-linking with glutaraldehyde and surface modification via low surface energy fluoroalkylsilane (FAS). The resultant FAS grafted PVA (F-PVA) nanofiber membranes were endowed with self-cleaning properties with water contact angles of 158° and sliding angles of 4° via the modification process, while retaining their high porosities and interconnected open structures. For the first time, the robust superhydrophobicity of the ENMs for MD was confirmed by testing the F-PVA nanofiber membranes under violent ultrasonic treatment and harsh chemical conditions. Furthermore, vacuum membrane distillation experiments illustrated that the F-PVA membranes presented a high and stable permeate flux of 25.2 kg/m2 h, 70% higher than those of the commercial PTFE membranes, with satisfied permeate conductivity (<5 μm/cm) during a continuous test of 16 h (3.5 wt % NaCl as the feed solution, and feed temperature and permeate pressure were set as 333 K and 9 kPa, respectively), suggesting their great potentials in myriad MD processes such as high salinity water desalination and volatile organiccompounds removal.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Membrane Science and Engineering R&D Lab, Chemical Engineering Research Center, Shanghai Key laboratory of Mutiphase Materials Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) , 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China.
authors.forename: Zhe-Qin
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Membrane Science and Engineering R&D Lab, Chemical Engineering Research Center, Shanghai Key laboratory of Mutiphase Materials Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) , 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China.
authors.forename: Bao-Juan
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Membrane Science and Engineering R&D Lab, Chemical Engineering Research Center, Shanghai Key laboratory of Mutiphase Materials Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) , 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Membrane Science and Engineering R&D Lab, Chemical Engineering Research Center, Shanghai Key laboratory of Mutiphase Materials Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) , 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Ming
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Membrane Science and Engineering R&D Lab, Chemical Engineering Research Center, Shanghai Key laboratory of Mutiphase Materials Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) , 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China.
authors.forename: Zhen-Liang
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Xu
keywords: eletrospinning; membrane distillation; nanofiber membrane; poly(vinyl alcohol); superhydrophobicity