A novel method for fabricating composite mosaic membrane with unique NF selectivity

A novel method of fabricating composite mosaic membranes was studied on the basis of interfacial polymerization (IP) by coating a thin selective layer onto the surface of a micro-porous hollow-fiber membrane, in which, 2,5-diaminobenzene sulfonic acid was used as one monomer of the IP reaction, and a mixture of trimesoyl chloride (TMCl) and 4-(chloromethyl) benzoyl chloride as the other monomer. Through the IP reaction a thin selective layer with negatively charged groups could be first formed on the polyethersulfone (PES) support membrane. Then trimethylamine solution was introduced to modify the IP layer through a quaternization reaction. Thus the selective layer of this composite membrane contained both negatively charged and positively charged groups to perform the mosaic functionality. Characterization of the composite mosaic membranes was carried out through permeation experiments using different inorganic salts and dyes. The experimental results showed that the membranes could permeate both mono- and bi-valent inorganic salts, but reject larger organic molecules. Such a mosaic membrane is potentially useful for the separation of salts from water-soluble organics, especially in dye and textile industries.