Micro-to nano-scale characterisation of polyamide structures of the SW30HR RO membrane using advanced electron microscopy and stain tracers

Journal of Membrane Science

Volumn 520, Issue , 2016, Pages 465-476

  Kłosowski, Michał M ^a   McGilvery, Catriona M ^a   Li, Yuqiong ^a   Abellan, Patricia ^b   Ramasse, Quentin ^b   Cabral, João T ^a   Livingston, Andrew G ^a   Porter, Alexandra E ^a  

^a IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON   (United Kingdom)

^b SUPERSTEM LABORATORY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Characterisation; FIB SEM; Permeation; RO membrane; STEM

Indexed keywords

ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; FILTRATION; HIGH RESOLUTION TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; ION BEAMS; MEMBRANES; MICROFILTRATION; NANOTECHNOLOGY; OSMOSIS MEMBRANES; PERMEATION; POSITRON ANNIHILATION SPECTROSCOPY; REVERSE OSMOSIS; SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY;

CHARACTERISATION; CROSS-SECTIONAL SCANNING; DIFFERENT LENGTH SCALE; FIB SEM; FOCUSED ION BEAM MILLING; HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURES; POSITRON ANNIHILATION LIFETIME SPECTROSCOPY; RO MEMBRANE;

ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY;

POLYAMIDE; WATER;

ARTICLE; ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY; FOCUSED ION BEAM MILLING; LIMIT OF QUANTITATION; MEMBRANE STRUCTURE; MICROSCOPY; POSITRON ANNIHILATION LIFETIME SPECTROSCOPY; PRIORITY JOURNAL; REVERSE OSMOSIS; SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; SCANNING TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; SOLVATION; SURFACE AREA; TOPOGRAPHY; TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY;

EID: 84981524173     PISSN: 03767388     EISSN: 18733123     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2016.07.063     Document Type: Article

References (50)

1. [1] Lee, K.P., Arnot, T.C., Mattia, D., A review of reverse osmosis membrane materials for desalination—development to date and future potential. J. Membr. Sci. 370 (2011), 1–22, 10.1016/j.memsci.2010.12.036.
2. [2] Elimelech, M., Phillip, W.A., The future of seawater desalination: energy, technology, and the environment. Science 333 (2011), 712–717, 10.1126/science.1200488.
3. [3] Petersen, R.J., Composite reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes. J. Membr. Sci. 83 (1993), 81–150.
4. [4] Uemura, T., Kotera, K., Henmi, M., Tomioka, H., Membrane technology in seawater desalination: history, recent developments and future prospects, Desalination. Water Treat. 33 (2011), 283–288, 10.5004/dwt.2011.2646.
5. [5] Cahill, D.G., Freger, V., Kwak, S.-Y., Microscopy and microanalysis of reverse-osmosis and nanofiltration membranes. MRS Bull. 33 (2008), 27–32.
6. [6] Kurihara, M., Hanakawa, M., Mega-ton Water System: Japanese national research and development project on seawater desalination and wastewater reclamation. Desalination 308 (2013), 131–137, 10.1016/j.desal.2012.07.038.
7. [7] Tang, C.Y., Kwon, Y.-N., Leckie, J.O., Probing the nano-and micro-scales of reverse osmosis membranes—a comprehensive characterization of physiochemical properties of uncoated and coated membranes by XPS, TEM, ATR-FTIR, and streaming potential measurements. J. Membr. Sci. 287 (2007), 146–156.
8. [8] Wang, Y.-N., Wei, J., She, Q., Pacheco, F., Tang, C.Y., Microscopic Characterization of FO/PRO membranes – a comparative study of CLSM, TEM and SEM. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2012, 10.1021/es301885m.
9. [9] Kwak, S.-Y., Jung, S.G., Yoon, Y.S., Ihm, D.W., Details of surface features in aromatic polyamide reverse osmosis membranes characterized by scanning electron and atomic force microscopy. J. Polym. Sci. Part B Polym. Phys. 37 (1999), 1429–1440.
10. [10] Mi, B., Coronell, O., Marinas, B., Watanabe, F., Cahill, D., Petrov, I., Physico-chemical characterization of NF/RO membrane active layers by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry☆. J. Membr. Sci. 282 (2006), 71–81, 10.1016/j.memsci.2006.05.015.
11. [11] Li, Q., Pan, X., Hou, C., Jin, Y., Dai, H., Wang, H., Zhao, X., Liu, X., Exploring the dependence of bulk properties on surface chemistries and microstructures of commercially composite RO membranes by novel characterization approaches. Desalination 292 (2012), 9–18, 10.1016/j.desal.2012.02.005.
12. [12] Freger, V., Bottino, A., Capannelli, G., Perry, M., Gitis, V., Belfer, S., Characterization of novel acid-stable NF membranes before and after exposure to acid using ATR-FTIR, TEM and AFM. J. Membr. Sci. 256 (2005), 134–142.
13. [13] Guillen, G.R., Pan, Y., Li, M., Hoek, E.M.V., Preparation and Characterization of Membranes Formed by Nonsolvent Induced Phase Separation: A Review. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 50 (2011), 3798–3817, 10.1021/ie101928r.
14. [14] Pacheco, F.A., Pinnau, I., Reinhard, M., Leckie, J.O., Characterization of isolated polyamide thin films of RO and NF membranes using novel TEM techniques. J. Membr. Sci. 358 (2010), 51–59.
15. [15] Karan, S., Jiang, Z., Livingston, A.G., Sub–10 nm polyamide nanofilms with ultrafast solvent transport for molecular separation. Science 348 (2015), 1347–1351, 10.1126/science.aaa1313.
16. [16] Yan, H., Miao, X., Xu, J., Pan, G., Zhang, Y., Shi, Y., Guo, M., Liu, Y., The porous structure of the fully-aromatic polyamide film in reverse osmosis membranes. J. Membr. Sci. 475 (2015), 504–510, 10.1016/j.memsci.2014.10.052.
17. [17] Kong, C., koushima, A., Kamada, T., Shintani, T., Kanezashi, M., Yoshioka, T., Tsuru, T., Enhanced performance of inorganic-polyamide nanocomposite membranes prepared by metal-alkoxide-assisted interfacial polymerization. J. Membr. Sci. 366 (2011), 382–388, 10.1016/j.memsci.2010.10.026.
18. [18] Kamada, T., Ohara, T., Shintani, T., Tsuru, T., Optimizing the preparation of multi-layered polyamide membrane via the addition of a co-solvent. J. Membr. Sci. 453 (2014), 489–497, 10.1016/j.memsci.2013.11.028.
19. [19] Pacheco, F., Sougrat, R., Reinhard, M., Leckie, J.O., Pinnau, I., 3D visualization of the internal nanostructure of polyamide thin films in RO membranes. J. Membr. Sci., 2015, 10.1016/j.memsci.2015.10.061.
20. [20] Lin, L., Lopez, R., Ramon, G.Z., Coronell, O., Investigating the void structure of the polyamide active layers of thin-film composite membranes. J. Membr. Sci. 497 (2016), 365–376, 10.1016/j.memsci.2015.09.020.
21. [21] Wijmans, J.G., Baker, R.W., The solution-diffusion model: a review. J. Membr. Sci. 107 (1995), 1–21.
22. [22] Fujioka, T., Oshima, N., Suzuki, R., Price, W.E., Nghiem, L.D., Probing the internal structure of reverse osmosis membranes by positron annihilation spectroscopy: Gaining more insight into the transport of water and small solutes. J. Membr. Sci. 486 (2015), 106–118, 10.1016/j.memsci.2015.02.007.
23. 2 separation. J. Membr. Sci. 436 (2013), 121–131, 10.1016/j.memsci.2013.02.038.
24. [24] Albo, J., Wang, J., Tsuru, T., Gas transport properties of interfacially polymerized polyamide composite membranes under different pre-treatments and temperatures. J. Membr. Sci. 449 (2014), 109–118, 10.1016/j.memsci.2013.08.026.
25. [25] Shimazu, A., Goto, H., Shintani, T., Hirose, M., Suzuki, R., Kobayashi, Y., Vacancy profile in reverse osmosis membranes studied by positron annihilation lifetime measurements and molecular dynamics simulations. J. Phys. Conf. Ser., 443, 2013, 012050, 10.1088/1742-6596/443/1/012050.
26. [26] Kolev, V., Freger, V., Hydration, porosity and water dynamics in the polyamide layer of reverse osmosis membranes: a molecular dynamics study. Polymer 55 (2014), 1420–1426, 10.1016/j.polymer.2013.12.045.
27. [27] Doi, M., Edwards, S.F., The Theory of Polymer Dynamics. 1986, Clarendon, Oxford.
28. [28] Henmi, M., Fusaoka, Y., Tomioka, H., Kurihara, M., High performance RO membranes for desalination and wastewater reclamation and their operation results. Water Sci. Technol., 62, 2010, 2134, 10.2166/wst.2010.396.
29. [29] Košutić, K., Kaštelan-Kunst, L., Kunst, B., Porosity of some commercial reverse osmosis and nanofiltration polyamide thin-film composite membranes. J. Membr. Sci. 168 (2000), 101–108.
30. [30] Stawikowska, J., Livingston, A.G., Nanoprobe imaging molecular scale pores in polymeric membranes. J. Membr. Sci. 413–414 (2012), 1–16, 10.1016/j.memsci.2012.02.033.
31. [31] Baker, R.W., Osmosis, Reverse, Membr. Technol. Appl, 2nd ed., 2004, J. Wiley, Chichester, New York, 191–235.
32. [32] M. Doube, BoneJ, (n.d.). 〈 http://bonej.org/thickness〉.
33. [33] Rasband, W.S., ImageJ, 1997 http://Imagej.nih.gov/ij/.
34. [34] Doube, M., Klosowski, M.M., Arganda-Carreras, I., Cordelières, F.P., Dougherty, R.P., Jackson, J.S., Schmid, B., Hutchinson, J.R., Shefelbine, S.J., BoneJ: Free and extensible bone image analysis in ImageJ. Bone 47 (2010), 1076–1079, 10.1016/j.bone.2010.08.023.
35. [35] Hildebrand, T., Ruegsegger, P., A new method for the model-independent assessment of thickness in three-dimensional images. J. Microsc. 185 (1997), 67–75.
36. [36] McGilvery, C.M., Goode, A.E., Shaffer, M.S.P., McComb, D.W., Contamination of holey/lacey carbon films in STEM. Micron 43 (2012), 450–455, 10.1016/j.micron.2011.10.026.
37. [37] Freger, V., Swelling and Morphology of the Skin Layer of Polyamide Composite Membranes: An Atomic Force Microscopy Study. Environ. Sci. Technol. 38 (2004), 3168–3175, 10.1021/es034815u.
38. [38] Ghosh, A.K., Jeong, B.-H., Huang, X., Hoek, E.M.V., Impacts of reaction and curing conditions on polyamide composite reverse osmosis membrane properties. J. Membr. Sci. 311 (2008), 34–45, 10.1016/j.memsci.2007.11.038.
39. [39] Lind, M.L., Ghosh, A.K., Jawor, A., Huang, X., Hou, W., Yang, Y., Hoek, E.M.V., Influence of Zeolite Crystal Size on Zeolite-Polyamide Thin Film Nanocomposite Membranes. Langmuir 25 (2009), 10139–10145, 10.1021/la900938x.
40. [40] Yin, J., Kim, E.-S., Yang, J., Deng, B., Fabrication of a novel thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane containing MCM-41 silica nanoparticles (NPs) for water purification. J. Membr. Sci. 423–424 (2012), 238–246, 10.1016/j.memsci.2012.08.020.
41. [41] Dražević, E., Košutić, K., Freger, V., Permeability and selectivity of reverse osmosis membranes: Correlation to swelling revisited. Water Res. 49 (2014), 444–452, 10.1016/j.watres.2013.10.029.
42. [42] Lee, J., Hill, A., Kentish, S., Formation of a thick aromatic polyamide membrane by interfacial polymerisation. Sep. Purif. Technol. 104 (2013), 276–283, 10.1016/j.seppur.2012.11.015.
43. [43] Trent, J.S., Scheinbeim, J.I., Couchman, P.R., Ruthenium tetraoxide staining of polymers for electron microscopy. Macromolecules 16 (1983), 589–598.
44. [44] Sano, H., Usami, T., Nakagawa, H., Lamellar morphologies of melt-crystallized polyethylene, isotactic polypropylene and ethylene-propylene copolymers by the RuO4 staining technique. Polymer 27 (1986), 1497–1504.
45. [45] Haubruge, H., Jonas, A., Legras, R., Staining of poly(ethylene terephthalate) by ruthenium tetroxide. Polymer 44 (2003), 3229–3234, 10.1016/S0032-3861(03)00255-6.
46. [46] Chou, T.M., Prayoonthong, P., Aitouchen, A., Libera, M., Nanoscale artifacts in RuO 4-stained poly (styrene). Polymer 43 (2002), 2085–2088.
47. [47] Janssen, L.J.J.M., te Nijenhuls, K., Encapsulation by interfacial polycondensation. I. The capsule production and a model for wall growth. J. Membr. Sci. 65 (1992), 59–68.
48. [48] Yuan, F., Wang, Z., Yu, X., Wei, Z., Li, S., Wang, J., Wang, S., Visualization of the Formation of Interfacially Polymerized Film by an Optical Contact Angle Measuring Device. J. Phys. Chem. C 116 (2012), 11496–11506, 10.1021/jp210209v.
49. [49] Midgley, P.A., Dunin-Borkowski, R.E., Electron tomography and holography in materials science. Nat. Mater. 8 (2009), 271–280, 10.1038/nmat2406.
50. [50] Diebolder, C.A., Koster, A.J., Koning, R.I., Pushing the resolution limits in cryo electron tomography of biological structures: pushing the resolution limits in cryo electron tomography. J. Microsc. 248 (2012), 1–5, 10.1111/j.1365-2818.2012.03627.x.