Novel Ultrafine Fibrous Poly(tetrafluoroethylene) Hollow Fiber Membrane Fabricated by Electrospinning

Qinglin Huang; Yan Huang; Shangpeng Gao; Mengyuan Zhang; Changfa Xiao

doi:10.3390/polym10050464

Polymers (Apr 2018)

Novel Ultrafine Fibrous Poly(tetrafluoroethylene) Hollow Fiber Membrane Fabricated by Electrospinning

Qinglin Huang,
Yan Huang,
Shangpeng Gao,
Mengyuan Zhang,
Changfa Xiao

Affiliations

Qinglin Huang: State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes/National Center for International Joint Research on Separation Membranes, Department of Material Science and Engineering, No. 399 West Binshui Road, Xiqing District, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300387, China
Yan Huang: State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes/National Center for International Joint Research on Separation Membranes, Department of Material Science and Engineering, No. 399 West Binshui Road, Xiqing District, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300387, China
Shangpeng Gao: State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes/National Center for International Joint Research on Separation Membranes, Department of Material Science and Engineering, No. 399 West Binshui Road, Xiqing District, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300387, China
Mengyuan Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes/National Center for International Joint Research on Separation Membranes, Department of Material Science and Engineering, No. 399 West Binshui Road, Xiqing District, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300387, China
Changfa Xiao: State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes/National Center for International Joint Research on Separation Membranes, Department of Material Science and Engineering, No. 399 West Binshui Road, Xiqing District, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300387, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10050464
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 10, no. 5
p. 464

Abstract

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Novel poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) hollow fiber membranes were successfully fabricated by electrospinning, with ultrafine fibrous PTFE membranes as separation layers, while a porous glassfiber braided tube served as the supporting matrix. During this process, PTFE/poly(vinylalcohol) (PVA) ultrafine fibrous membranes were electrospun while covering the porous glassfiber braided tube; then, the nascent PTFE/PVA hollow fiber membrane was obtained. In the following sintering process, the spinning carrier PVA decomposed; meanwhile, the ultrafine fibrous PTFE membrane shrank inward so as to further integrate with the supporting matrix. Therefore, the ultrafine fibrous PTFE membranes had excellent interface bonding strength with the supporting matrix. Moreover, the obtained ultrafine fibrous PTFE hollow fiber membrane exhibited superior performances in terms of strong hydrophobicity (CA > 140°), high porosity (>70%), and sharp pore size distribution. The comprehensive properties indicated that the ultrafine fibrous PTFE hollow fiber membranes could have potentially useful applications in membrane contactors (MC), especially membrane distillation (MD) in harsh water environments.

Published in Polymers

ISSN: 2073-4360 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry: Organic chemistry
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers/

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