Modification of performances of various membranes using MWNTs as a modifier

The effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) incorporated for the modification of membrane performances was studied. Two different types of membranes were prepared by using MWNTs: one was polysulfone (PSf) ultrafiltration (UF) membrane and the other was polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) pervaporation membrane. The PSf UF membranes with different contents of MWNTs were prepared by the conventional phase inversion process, and used for water-treatment. on the other hand, the PVA membranes with different amount of MWNTs were prepared by the casting and drying method, and used for the pervaporation separation of water out of ethanol solution containing 10% of water. The two different types of membranes were then characterized with several analytical methods to figure out how the MWNTs were distributed through the membranes and affect on the properties of them: For the PSf membranes, the MWNTs mainly located on the surface of the membranes made them more hydrophilic and improved the selective permeation performances of the membranes. in the case of the PVA membranes, the MWNTs were distributed rather homogeneously through out the membranes, and affected on the micro-morphology of the membranes, causing them to have different pervaporation performances.