Polysulfone （PSF） membranes have gained great attention in the fields of ultrafiltration, microfiltration, and thin film composite membranes for nanofiltration or reverse osmosis. For the first time, it is proposed ...Polysulfone （PSF） membranes have gained great attention in the fields of ultrafiltration, microfiltration, and thin film composite membranes for nanofiltration or reverse osmosis. For the first time, it is proposed to fabricate PSF membranes via thermally induced phase separation （TIPS） process using diphenyl sulfone （DPSO2） and polyethylene glycol （PEG） as mixed diluent. DPSO2 is chosen as a crystallizable diluent, while PEG is considered in terms of molecular weight （Mw） and dosage. We systematically investigate the interactions between PSF, DPSO2 and PEG based on the simulation calculations and solubility parameter theory. It is inferred that DPSO2 has an excellent compatibility with PSF, and the addition of PEG results in the ternary system thermodynamically less stable and then facilitates its liquid-liquid （L-L） phase separation. SEM images indicate that cellular-like pores are obvious throughout the membrane when the PEG content in the mixed diluent is 25 wt%-35 wt%. We can facilely manipulate the pore size, water flux and mechanical properties of PSF membranes with the dosage of PEG-200, the Mw of PEG or the cooling rate. The successful application of TIPS can provide a new approach for structure manipulation and performance enhancement of PSF membranes.展开更多
To improve the performances of HDPE-based separators, polyether chains were incorporated into HDPE membranes by blending with poly（ethylene-block-ethylene glycol） （PE-b-PEG） via thermally induced phase separation ...To improve the performances of HDPE-based separators, polyether chains were incorporated into HDPE membranes by blending with poly（ethylene-block-ethylene glycol） （PE-b-PEG） via thermally induced phase separation （TIPS） process. By measuring the composition, morphology, crystallinity, ion conductivity, etc, the influence of PE-b-PEG on structures and properties of the blend separator were investigated. It was found that the incorporated PEG chains yielded higher surface energy for HDPE separator and improved affinity to liquid electrolyte. Thus, the stability of liquid electrolyte trapped in separator was increased while the interfacial resistance between separator and electrode was reduced effectively. The ionic conductivity of liquid electrolyte soaked separator could reach 1.28 ×10^-3 S.cm^-1 at 25℃, and the electrochemical stability window was up to 4.5 V （versus Li^＋/Li）. These results revealed that blending PE-b-PEG into porous HDPE membranes could efficiently improve the performances of PE separators for lithium batteries.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.21174124 and 21534009)
文摘Polysulfone （PSF） membranes have gained great attention in the fields of ultrafiltration, microfiltration, and thin film composite membranes for nanofiltration or reverse osmosis. For the first time, it is proposed to fabricate PSF membranes via thermally induced phase separation （TIPS） process using diphenyl sulfone （DPSO2） and polyethylene glycol （PEG） as mixed diluent. DPSO2 is chosen as a crystallizable diluent, while PEG is considered in terms of molecular weight （Mw） and dosage. We systematically investigate the interactions between PSF, DPSO2 and PEG based on the simulation calculations and solubility parameter theory. It is inferred that DPSO2 has an excellent compatibility with PSF, and the addition of PEG results in the ternary system thermodynamically less stable and then facilitates its liquid-liquid （L-L） phase separation. SEM images indicate that cellular-like pores are obvious throughout the membrane when the PEG content in the mixed diluent is 25 wt%-35 wt%. We can facilely manipulate the pore size, water flux and mechanical properties of PSF membranes with the dosage of PEG-200, the Mw of PEG or the cooling rate. The successful application of TIPS can provide a new approach for structure manipulation and performance enhancement of PSF membranes.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 20974094, U1134002)
文摘To improve the performances of HDPE-based separators, polyether chains were incorporated into HDPE membranes by blending with poly（ethylene-block-ethylene glycol） （PE-b-PEG） via thermally induced phase separation （TIPS） process. By measuring the composition, morphology, crystallinity, ion conductivity, etc, the influence of PE-b-PEG on structures and properties of the blend separator were investigated. It was found that the incorporated PEG chains yielded higher surface energy for HDPE separator and improved affinity to liquid electrolyte. Thus, the stability of liquid electrolyte trapped in separator was increased while the interfacial resistance between separator and electrode was reduced effectively. The ionic conductivity of liquid electrolyte soaked separator could reach 1.28 ×10^-3 S.cm^-1 at 25℃, and the electrochemical stability window was up to 4.5 V （versus Li^＋/Li）. These results revealed that blending PE-b-PEG into porous HDPE membranes could efficiently improve the performances of PE separators for lithium batteries.
