Use of Nucleating Agent NA11 in the Preparation of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Dual-Layer Hollow Fiber Membranes

Jihyeon Kim; Jinwon Lee; Lindsey B Bezek; Bumjin Park; Kwan-Soo Lee

doi:10.3390/membranes13010075

Use of Nucleating Agent NA11 in the Preparation of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Dual-Layer Hollow Fiber Membranes

Membranes (Basel). 2023 Jan 7;13(1):75. doi: 10.3390/membranes13010075.

Authors

Jihyeon Kim^{1

2}, Jinwon Lee³, Lindsey B Bezek¹, Bumjin Park³, Kwan-Soo Lee^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
² Department of Materials Engineering and Convergence Technology, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Republic of Korea.
³ LOTTE Chemical Co., Ltd., Daejeon 305-726, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) dual-layer hollow fiber membranes were simultaneously fabricated by thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) and non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) methods using a triple orifice spinneret (TOS) for water treatment application. The support layer was prepared from a TIPS dope solution, which was composed of PVDF, gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). The coating layer was prepared from a NIPS dope solution, which was composed of PVDF, N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). In order to improve the mechanical strength of the dual-layer hollow fiber, a nucleating agent, sodium 2,2'-methylene bis-(4,6-di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphate (NA11), was added to the TIPS dope solution. The performance of the membrane was evaluated by surface and cross-sectional morphology, water flux, mechanical strength, and thermal property. Our results demonstrate that NA11 improved the mechanical strength of the PVDF dual-layer hollow fiber membranes by up to 42%. In addition, the thickness of the coating layer affected the porosity of the membrane and mechanical performance to have high durability in enduring harsh processing conditions.

Keywords: dual layer hollow fiber; non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS); nucleating agent; polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF); thermally induced phase separation (TIPS).

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy through the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by Triad National Security, LLC, for the National Nuclear Security Administration of U.S. Department of Energy (Contract No. 89233218CNA000001). This paper was supported by the Korea Institute for Ad-vancement of Technology (KIAT) grant funded by the Korea Government (MOTIE) (P0017310, Human Resource Development Program for Industrial Innovation (global)).