Halloysite Nanotube-Enhanced Polyacrylonitrile Ultrafiltration Membranes: Fabrication, Characterization, and Performance Evaluation

Seren Acarer, İnci Pir, Mertol Tüfekci*, Tuǧba Erkoç, Sevgi Güneş Durak, Vehbi Öztekin, Güler Türkoǧlu Demirkol, Mehmet Şükrü Özçoban*, Tuba Yelda Temelli Çoban, Selva Ćavuş, Neşe Tüfekci

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This research focuses on the production and characterization of pristine polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as well as halloysite nanotube (HNT)-doped PAN ultrafiltration (UF) membranes via the phase inversion technique. Membranes containing 0.1, 0.5, and 1% wt HNT in 16% wt PAN are fabricated, and their chemical compositions are examined using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is utilized to characterize the membranes’ surface and cross-sectional morphologies. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is employed to assess the roughness of the PAN/HNT membrane. Thermal characterization is conducted using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA), while contact angle and water content measurements reveal the hydrophilic/hydrophobic properties. The pure water flux (PWF) performance of the porous UF water filtration membranes is evaluated at 3 bar, with porosity and mean pore size calculations. The iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiencies of PAN/HNT membranes from dam water are examined, and the surfaces of fouled membranes are investigated by using SEM post-treatment. Mechanical characterization encompasses tensile testing, the Mori-Tanaka homogenization approach, and finite element analysis. The findings offer valuable insights into the impact of HNT doping on PAN membrane characteristics and performance, which will inform future membrane development initiatives.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)34729-34745
Number of pages17
JournalACS Omega
Volume8
Issue number38
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 26 Sept 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.

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