美国耶鲁大学Menachem Elimelech研究团队报道了用于高性能反渗透脱盐的更有弹性的聚酯膜。相关研究成果于2024年4月19日发表于国际一流学术期刊《科学》。

近半个世纪以来，薄膜复合反渗透膜一直是海水淡化和水净化的金标准技术。聚酰胺膜具有优异的透水性和拒盐性，但也存在耐氯性差、结垢倾向高和拒硼率低的问题。

研究人员通过分子设计聚酯薄膜复合反渗透膜来解决这些问题，该膜使用共溶剂辅助界面聚合使3,5-二羟基-4-甲基苯甲酸与苯三甲酰氯反应。这种聚酯膜具有良好的透水性、对氯化钠和硼的高截留率以及对氯的完全耐受性。与聚酰胺膜相比，该膜的超光滑、低能量表面还可以防止污垢和矿物结垢。通过进一步优化水盐选择性，这些膜可能会越来越多地挑战聚酰胺膜，为显著减少脱盐中的预处理步骤提供了一条途径。

附：英文原文

Title: More resilient polyester membranes for high-performance reverse osmosis desalination

Author: Yujian Yao, Pingxia Zhang, Fei Sun, Wen Zhang, Meng Li, Gang Sha, Long Teng, Xianze Wang, Mingxin Huo, Ryan M. DuChanois, Tianchi Cao, Chanhee Boo, Xuan Zhang, Menachem Elimelech

Issue&Volume: 2024-04-19

Abstract: Thin-film composite reverse osmosis membranes have remained the gold standard technology for desalination and water purification for nearly half a century. Polyamide films offer excellent water permeability and salt rejection but also suffer from poor chlorine resistance, high fouling propensity, and low boron rejection. We addressed these issues by molecularly designing a polyester thin-film composite reverse osmosis membrane using co-solvent–assisted interfacial polymerization to react 3,5-dihydroxy-4-methylbenzoic acid with trimesoyl chloride. This polyester membrane exhibits substantial water permeability, high rejection for sodium chloride and boron, and complete resistance toward chlorine. The ultrasmooth, low-energy surface of the membrane also prevents fouling and mineral scaling compared with polyamide membranes. These membranes could increasingly challenge polyamide membranes by further optimizing water-salt selectivity, offering a path to considerably reducing pretreatment steps in desalination.

DOI: adk0632

Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk0632