Preparation of hydrophilic bentonite grafted mixed matrix polyvinylchloride membrane with superior hydrophilicity

Abstract

This research study, by using a non-solvent induced phase separation method, an approach to prepare polyvinyl chloride membranes grafted with hydrophilic Bentonite nano-particles was developed. The results of morphological studies showed that all the membranes have asymmetric structure and the number of pores increased as well as mean pore radius was varied by the addition of hydrophilic Bentonite. The Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Xray diffraction analysis of hydrophilic Bentonite embedded polyvinyl chloride membranes also supported the proper interaction between the polymer and inorganic nanoparticle. Change in contact angle data showed that the surface of membrane become more hydrophilic with increasing hydrophilic Bentonite content. Moreover, pure water flux of membranes was also calculated by using membrane in added end filtration setup. Flux was increased with increasing hydrophilic Bentonite content as a result of an increase in hydrophilicity. The resulting membranes also hada higher magnitude of tensile strength as well as elongation at break. However, agglomeration was observed for 1.5 and higher wt.% of hydrophilic bentonite (HB) that adversely affected the membrane performance.