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Development and Applications of Polymeric Membranes for Separation

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Membranes and Films".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 March 2024) | Viewed by 10799

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
G. A. Krestov Institute of Solution Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ivanovo, Russia
Interests: polymer physics; thermodynamics; phase diagram; phase behavior; polymeric materials; polymeric membranes; polymeric powders; differential scanning calorimetry; scanning electron microscopy; optical microscopy

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Guest Editor
A.V. Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 29, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Interests: membrane design; membrane fabrication; membrane-based separation processes; high-throughput techniques; industry oriented applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
G. A. Krestov Institute of Solution Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ivanovo, Russia
Interests: semicrystalline polymer; phase diagram; phase behavior; structure evolution; polymeric materials; scanning electron microscopy; differential scanning calorimetry; optical microscopy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As a sustainable approach, the membrane separation is playing an increasingly important role for the processing and recovery of target compounds from various gas and liquid streams due to its lower energy cost, footprint, and flexibility in operation. The majority of membranes used in separation processes are based on amorphous and semicrystalline polymers. This Special Issue entitled “Development and Applications of Polymeric Membranes for Separation” will cover both the fundamental and applied aspects of polymeric membrane preparation and application, including but not limited to:

  • The structure evolution and phase behavior of the polymeric systems during the membrane formation by nonsolvent- and vapor-induced phase separation (NIPS, VIPS) methods, as well as the thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) method, and their combination;
  • Mechanisms of structure formation of the membranes in the phase separation processes induced by changing the temperature and/or nonsolvent addition;
  • Novel approaches to the formation of polymeric membranes, including the focus on sustainability such as the use of green solvents or solvent-free methods;
  • Novel membrane materials, including mixed matrix membranes and polymer–polymer blends;
  • Gas and liquid separation and membrane contactors.

Both original research and review articles are welcome in this Special Issue. 

Dr. Konstantin V. Pochivalov
Dr. Alexey V. Volkov
Dr. Andrey V. Basko
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • polymeric membrane
  • membrane fabrication
  • phase behaviour
  • structure formation
  • gas separation
  • liquid separation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 13913 KiB  
Article
Mechanism of PVDF Membrane Formation by NIPS Revisited: Effect of Precipitation Bath Nature and Polymer–Solvent Affinity
by Andrey Basko, Tatyana Lebedeva, Mikhail Yurov, Anna Ilyasova, Galina Elyashevich, Viktor Lavrentyev, Denis Kalmykov, Alexey Volkov and Konstantin Pochivalov
Polymers 2023, 15(21), 4307; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15214307 - 2 Nov 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2729
Abstract
A new interpretation of the mechanism of the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane formation using the nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) method based on an analysis of the complete experimental phase diagram for the three-component mixture PVDF–dimethyl acetamide (DMAc)–water is proposed. The effects of the [...] Read more.
A new interpretation of the mechanism of the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane formation using the nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) method based on an analysis of the complete experimental phase diagram for the three-component mixture PVDF–dimethyl acetamide (DMAc)–water is proposed. The effects of the precipitation bath’s harshness and thermodynamic affinity of the polymer’s solvent on the morphology, crystalline structure, transport and physical–mechanical properties of the membranes are investigated. These characteristics were studied via scanning electron microscopy, wide-angle X-ray scattering, liquid–liquid porosimetry and standard methods of physico-mechanical analysis. It is established that an increase in DMAc concentration in the precipitation bath results in the growth of mean pore size from ~60 to ~150 nm and an increase in permeance from ~2.8 to ~8 L m−2 h−1 bar−1. It was observed that pore size transformations are accompanied by changes in the tensile strength of membranes from ~9 to ~11 and to 6 MPa, which were explained by the degeneration of finger-like pores and appearance of spherulitic structures in the samples. The addition of water to the dope solution decreased both the transport (mean pore size changed from ~55 to ~25 nm and permeance reduced from ~2.8 to ~0.5 L m−2 h−1 bar−1) and mechanical properties of the membranes (tensile strength decreased from ~9 to ~6 MPa). It is possible to conclude that the best membrane quality may be reached using pure DMAc as a solvent and a precipitation bath containing 10–30% wt. of DMAc, in addition to water. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Applications of Polymeric Membranes for Separation)
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Review

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39 pages, 5618 KiB  
Review
Engineering Polymer-Based Porous Membrane for Sustainable Lithium-Ion Battery Separators
by Lei Li and Yutian Duan
Polymers 2023, 15(18), 3690; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15183690 - 7 Sep 2023
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 7540
Abstract
Due to the growing demand for eco-friendly products, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have gained widespread attention as an energy storage solution. With the global demand for clean and sustainable energy, the social, economic, and environmental significance of LIBs is becoming more widely recognized. LIBs [...] Read more.
Due to the growing demand for eco-friendly products, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have gained widespread attention as an energy storage solution. With the global demand for clean and sustainable energy, the social, economic, and environmental significance of LIBs is becoming more widely recognized. LIBs are composed of cathode and anode electrodes, electrolytes, and separators. Notably, the separator, a pivotal and indispensable component in LIBs that primarily consists of a porous membrane material, warrants significant research attention. Researchers have thus endeavored to develop innovative systems that enhance separator performance, fortify security measures, and address prevailing limitations. Herein, this review aims to furnish researchers with comprehensive content on battery separator membranes, encompassing performance requirements, functional parameters, manufacturing protocols, scientific progress, and overall performance evaluations. Specifically, it investigates the latest breakthroughs in porous membrane design, fabrication, modification, and optimization that employ various commonly used or emerging polymeric materials. Furthermore, the article offers insights into the future trajectory of polymer-based composite membranes for LIB applications and prospective challenges awaiting scientific exploration. The robust and durable membranes developed have shown superior efficacy across diverse applications. Consequently, these proposed concepts pave the way for a circular economy that curtails waste materials, lowers process costs, and mitigates the environmental footprint. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Applications of Polymeric Membranes for Separation)
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