Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 641-649 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of membrane science |
| Volume | 572 |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Feb 2019 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Abstract
Water vapor removal is a crucial process for several industries (e.g., air conditioning systems, flue gas dehydration, compressed air drying etc.). An effective dehumidification has the potential to drastically reduce the energy consumption and the overall cost of a process stream. Membranes with high water permeance and selectivity are promising candidates to achieve an energy-efficient water removal. We propose self-assembled membranes with interconnected and ordered hydrophilic domains that act as extremely fast water transport highways (water channels). We used a commercial amphiphilic pentablock copolymer (Nexar™), which has the ability to form long-range, self-ordering nanoscale morphologies with rigid end-blocks and a flexible molecular network where polar and non-polar solvents regulated the final morphologies of the membranes. Our results demonstrate how well-defined periodic morphology allow for molecular level control in effective removal of water vapor. The membranes with ordered hydrophilic nanochannels present a 6-fold improvement in water vapor permeability and a 14-fold increase in water vapor/N2 selectivity compared to Nexar™ membranes with disordered domains. Molecular dynamics stimulations are carried out on the self-assembly behavior of block copolymer solution in different solvents. In addition, sorption and desorption kinetics studies for Nexar™ films were correlated to the different morphologies imaged by transmission electron, atomic force and environmental scanning electron microscopy.
Keywords
- Pentablock copolymer, Self-assembly, Water vapor transport, Water vapor/N selectivity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Biochemistry
- Materials Science(all)
- General Materials Science
- Chemistry(all)
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Chemical Engineering(all)
- Filtration and Separation
Sustainable Development Goals
Cite this
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTeX
- RIS
In: Journal of membrane science, Vol. 572, 15.02.2019, p. 641-649.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Highways for water molecules
T2 - Interplay between nanostructure and water vapor transport in block copolymer membranes
AU - Akhtar, Faheem Hassan
AU - Vovushua, Hakkim
AU - Villalobos, Luis Francisco
AU - Shevate, Rahul
AU - Kumar, Mahendra
AU - Nunes, Suzana Pereira
AU - Schwingenschlögl, Udo
AU - Peinemann, Klaus Viktor
N1 - Funding Information: The research reported in this publication was supported by the funding from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) under award number BAS/1/1332-01-01 . Table of content was created by Xavier Pita, Scientific illustrator at KAUST.
PY - 2019/2/15
Y1 - 2019/2/15
N2 - Water vapor removal is a crucial process for several industries (e.g., air conditioning systems, flue gas dehydration, compressed air drying etc.). An effective dehumidification has the potential to drastically reduce the energy consumption and the overall cost of a process stream. Membranes with high water permeance and selectivity are promising candidates to achieve an energy-efficient water removal. We propose self-assembled membranes with interconnected and ordered hydrophilic domains that act as extremely fast water transport highways (water channels). We used a commercial amphiphilic pentablock copolymer (Nexar™), which has the ability to form long-range, self-ordering nanoscale morphologies with rigid end-blocks and a flexible molecular network where polar and non-polar solvents regulated the final morphologies of the membranes. Our results demonstrate how well-defined periodic morphology allow for molecular level control in effective removal of water vapor. The membranes with ordered hydrophilic nanochannels present a 6-fold improvement in water vapor permeability and a 14-fold increase in water vapor/N2 selectivity compared to Nexar™ membranes with disordered domains. Molecular dynamics stimulations are carried out on the self-assembly behavior of block copolymer solution in different solvents. In addition, sorption and desorption kinetics studies for Nexar™ films were correlated to the different morphologies imaged by transmission electron, atomic force and environmental scanning electron microscopy.
AB - Water vapor removal is a crucial process for several industries (e.g., air conditioning systems, flue gas dehydration, compressed air drying etc.). An effective dehumidification has the potential to drastically reduce the energy consumption and the overall cost of a process stream. Membranes with high water permeance and selectivity are promising candidates to achieve an energy-efficient water removal. We propose self-assembled membranes with interconnected and ordered hydrophilic domains that act as extremely fast water transport highways (water channels). We used a commercial amphiphilic pentablock copolymer (Nexar™), which has the ability to form long-range, self-ordering nanoscale morphologies with rigid end-blocks and a flexible molecular network where polar and non-polar solvents regulated the final morphologies of the membranes. Our results demonstrate how well-defined periodic morphology allow for molecular level control in effective removal of water vapor. The membranes with ordered hydrophilic nanochannels present a 6-fold improvement in water vapor permeability and a 14-fold increase in water vapor/N2 selectivity compared to Nexar™ membranes with disordered domains. Molecular dynamics stimulations are carried out on the self-assembly behavior of block copolymer solution in different solvents. In addition, sorption and desorption kinetics studies for Nexar™ films were correlated to the different morphologies imaged by transmission electron, atomic force and environmental scanning electron microscopy.
KW - Pentablock copolymer
KW - Self-assembly
KW - Water vapor transport
KW - Water vapor/N selectivity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85057824278&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.memsci.2018.11.050
DO - 10.1016/j.memsci.2018.11.050
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85057824278
VL - 572
SP - 641
EP - 649
JO - Journal of membrane science
JF - Journal of membrane science
SN - 0376-7388
ER -