Articles
  • Regulation of polyethersulfone membrane morphology and its influence on filtration performance

  • Meixia Shia,b,*, Haiming Songa,b, Hao Lia,b and Yucheng Maob

  • aNingbo Key Laboratory of High Performance Petroleum Resin Preparation Engineering and Technology, Ningbo Polytechnic, Ningbo 315800, China
    bChemical Engineering Department, Ningbo Polytechnic, Ningbo 315800, China

  • This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Optimizing the filtration performance of polymer membranes, mainly through morphology manipulation, remains a crucial focus in membrane research. This study systematically examined the relationship between membrane morphology and filtration performance in polyethersulfone (PES) membranes by varying the composition of the casting solution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis were used to investigate the membrane's microstructure thoroughly. Results showed that increasing PES concentration led to smaller pore sizes and reduced porosity, resulting in lower water permeance and higher retention rates. Additionally, analyses of the t-plot micropore area and BJH cumulative pore surface area revealed the influence of micropores and mesopores on permeance and retention. Different molecular weights and concentrations of polyethylene glycol (PEG) significantly altered the pore distribution, impacting overall membrane performance.


Keywords: Polyethersulfone, Polyethylene glycol, Membrane morphology, Filtration performance.

This Article

  • 2025; 26(2): 342-351

    Published on Apr 30, 2025

  • 10.36410/jcpr.2025.26.2.342
  • Received on Jan 21, 2025
  • Revised on Mar 17, 2025
  • Accepted on Apr 3, 2025

Correspondence to

  • Meixia Shi

  • aNingbo Key Laboratory of High Performance Petroleum Resin Preparation Engineering and Technology, Ningbo Polytechnic, Ningbo 315800, China
    bChemical Engineering Department, Ningbo Polytechnic, Ningbo 315800, China
    Tel : +86 0574 86894532 Fax: +86 0574 86894532

  • E-mail: meixia.shi@nbpt.edu.cn