Preparation of thin film nanofibrous composite NF membrane based on EDC/NHS modified PAN-AA nanofibrous substrate

A novel kind of thin-film nanofibrous composite (TFNC) nanofiltration (NF) membranes consisting of a polyamide (PA) barrier layer were successfully fabricated by interfacial polymerization (IFP) based on electrospun double-layer nanofibrous substrates, which have an ultrathin poly (acrylonitrile-co-acrylic acid) (PAN-AA) nanofibrous layer as top layer and a thicker polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber layer as bottom porous support layer. Immersing PAN/PAN-AA nanofibrous substrates into 1-ethyl-(3-3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride/N-hydroxysuccinimide (EDC/NHS) aqueous solution and piperazine (PIP) aqueous solution (0.20 wt%) sequentially for a period of time, the carboxyl groups on PAN-AA nanofibers were activated by carbodiimide and then reacted with the amide groups. The as prepared composite membrane has an integrated structure with high rejection rate (98.0%); high permeate flux (40.4 L/m²h) for MgSO₄ aqueous solution (2 g/L). (paper)