Journal article
Charge tunable thin-film composite membranes by gamma-ray triggered surface polymerization
R Reis, MC Duke, BL Tardy, D Oldfield, RR Dagastine, JD Orbell, LF Dumeé
Scientific Reports | NATURE PORTFOLIO | Published : 2017
Open access
Abstract
Thin-film composite poly(amide) (PA) membranes have greatly diversified water supplies and food products. However, users would benefit from a control of the electrostatic interactions between the liquid and the net surface charge interface in order to benefit wider application. The ionic selectivity of the 100 nm PA semi-permeable layer is significantly affected by the pH of the solution. In this work, for the first time, a convenient route is presented to configure the surface charge of PA membranes by gamma ray induced surface grafting. This rapid and up-scalable method offers a versatile route for surface grafting by adjusting the irradiation total dose and the monomer concentration. Spec..
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Awarded by Collaborative Research Network (CRN) initiative of the Australian Department of Industry
Awarded by AINSE grant (ALNGRA)
Funding Acknowledgements
Rackel Reis (RR) would like to acknowledge PhD stipend and project funding from the Collaborative Research Network (CRN 2012) initiative of the Australian Department of Industry. RR also acknowledges the postgraduate top-up scholarship from the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination Australia, funded by the Australian Government through the National Urban Water and Desalination Plan. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and researchers Mrs Connie Banos and Dr. Justin Davies for the AINSE grant (ALNGRA 13064 and 14050). Dr. Ludovic F. Dumees Alfred Deakin Post-Doctoral Fellowship and Deakin University and the Institute for Frontier Materials. The Materials Characterization and Fabrication Platform (MCFP) at the Melbourne University for the AFM and XPS analysis from the Physics Department, School of Applied Sciences at RMIT University are acknowledged, while the authors thank Dr. Mary She for advice. The support of Deakin University Microscopy Unit is also acknowledged. Last Prof. Dougal McCulloch (RMIT) is acknowledged for fruitful discussions.