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Polymeric Membrane
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Polymeric Membrane

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymeric Membranes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2020) | Viewed by 25974

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Vicente Compañ Moreno

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Departamento de Termodinámica Aplicada, Universitat Politécnica de Valencia, C/Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: ionic exchange membranes; ionic conductivity, diffusivity, and mobility; polymeric membranes to applied energy devices; nanofibers; composite membranes; supported ionic-like liquids (SILLPs); membranes containing ionic liquids; modeling electrode polarization of ionic polymer electrolytes; computational conductivity studies in polymeric membranes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is particularly focused on the concerns associated with membranes and catalysts with special properties and efficiencies that are applied in the construction of energy devices. Use of the electrospinning technique, ionic liquids (ILs), molecular organic frameworks (MOFs), zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), and mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) which combine an organic polymeric matrix with an inorganic filler have all blossomed in the last decade. The use of fillers in polymeric matrices has been decisive in obtaining advanced composite membranes with improved transport of ions and gases through membranes, hydrogels, and fuel cell performance, essentially due to the enhancement of ionic transport and gas separation.

This Special Issue “Polymeric Membranes” is for researchers and technologists interested in all aspects of the science, technology, and applications of sources of electrochemical power, syntheses of polymers to obtain membranes for gas separation, and hydrogels with excellent oxygen permeability, among others. Both original research articles and reviews about the science and applications of gases, proton, and ions for electrochemical cells are welcomed. Topics considered include the research, development, and applications of materials and novel componentry for these kinds of devices.

Specific topics of interests include:

  • Characterization of dielectric and mechanical properties of polymeric membranes.
  • Conductivity study of polymers and membranes by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).
  • Correlation between the structure peculiarities and electrotransport properties of the charged synthetic membranes in dependence on chemical nature of polymer matrix,
  • Electrochemistry characterization of protonic exchange membranes for fuel cell applications for PEMFC, DMFC, and MFCs.
  • Development of solid-state electrolytes for advanced batteries.
  • Preparation of organic or inorganic ion-conducting nanofibers for enhanced ionic conductivities to be applied in fuel cells and batteries.
  • Synthesis of stable inorganic electrolytes able to tolerate a large concentration of atomic vacancies with the aim of promoting conductivity.
  • Computational studies to describe ion transport through polymeric membranes.
  • Gas transport through membranes to be applied in food packing.
  • Oxygen, ionic, and drug transport in hydrogels and silicone hydrogel membranes to be applied as contact lenses.

Prof. Dr. Vicente Compañ Moreno
Guest Editor

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. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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

  • membranes
  • polymer electrolytes
  • supported ionic liquids (SILLPs)
  • ionic conductivity
  • solar cells
  • diffusivity
  • mobility
  • nanofibers
  • proton exchange membranes (PEM)
  • supported ionic-like liquids (SILLPs)
  • polymeric membranes for fuel cell applications
  • membrane electrode assembly
  • gas transport
  • gas permeation
  • oxygen diffusion
  • hydrogels
  • contact lenses

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

4 pages, 201 KiB  
Editorial
Polymeric Membranes
by Vicente Compañ
Membranes 2021, 11(4), 294; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11040294 - 19 Apr 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1764
Abstract
This Special Issue of Polymeric Membranes is dedicated to gathering research carried out within the field of polymeric membranes in different fields of application [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Membrane)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

16 pages, 4078 KiB  
Article
Efficient Facilitated Transport Polymer Membrane for CO2/CH4 Separation from Oilfield Associated Gas
by Chunwei Zhang, Menglong Sheng, Yaoqiang Hu, Ye Yuan, Yulong Kang, Xiao Sun, Tao Wang, Qinghua Li, Xisen Zhao and Zhi Wang
Membranes 2021, 11(2), 118; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11020118 - 07 Feb 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2307
Abstract
CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) technology is a competitive strategy to improve oil field economic returns and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the arbitrary emissions or combustion of the associated gas, which mainly consists of CO2 and CH4 [...] Read more.
CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) technology is a competitive strategy to improve oil field economic returns and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the arbitrary emissions or combustion of the associated gas, which mainly consists of CO2 and CH4, will cause the aggravation of the greenhouse effect and a huge waste of resources. In this paper, the high-performance facilitated transport multilayer composite membrane for CO2/CH4 separation was prepared by individually adjusting the membrane structure of each layer. The effect of test conditions on the CO2/CH4 separation performance was systematically investigated. The membrane exhibits high CO2 permeance of 3.451 × 10−7 mol·m−2·s−1·Pa−1 and CO2/CH4 selectivity of 62 at 298 K and 0.15 MPa feed gas pressure. The cost analysis was investigated by simulating the two-stage system. When the recovery rate and purity of CH4 are 98%, the minimum specific cost of separating CO2/CH4 (45/55 vol%) can be reduced to 0.046 $·Nm−3 CH4. The excellent short-to-mid-term stability indicates the great potential of large industrial application in the CH4 recovery and CO2 reinjection from oilfield associated gas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Membrane)
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20 pages, 6745 KiB  
Article
Structural and Barrier Properties of Compatibilized PE/PA6 Multinanolayer Films
by Quentin Lozay, Quentin Beuguel, Nadège Follain, Laurent Lebrun, Alain Guinault, Guillaume Miquelard-Garnier, Sylvie Tencé-Girault, Cyrille Sollogoub, Eric Dargent and Stéphane Marais
Membranes 2021, 11(2), 75; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11020075 - 20 Jan 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3083
Abstract
The barrier performance and structural lightening of organic materials are increasingly desired and constitute a major challenge for manufacturers, particularly for transport and packaging. A promising technique which tends to emerge in recent years is that of multinanolayer coextrusion. The advantage is that [...] Read more.
The barrier performance and structural lightening of organic materials are increasingly desired and constitute a major challenge for manufacturers, particularly for transport and packaging. A promising technique which tends to emerge in recent years is that of multinanolayer coextrusion. The advantage is that it can produce multilayers made of thousands of very thin layers, leading to new properties due to crystalline morphology changes induced by confinement. This paper is focusing on the study of multinanolayered films with alternated polyethylene (PE), compatibilizer (PEgMA) and polyamide 6 (PA6) layers and made by a forced assembly coextrusion process equipped with layer multiplying elements (LME). PE/PA6 multilayer films consisting of 5 to 2049 layers (respectively 0 to 9 LME) were successfully obtained with well-organized multilayered structure. The evolution of the morphology and the microstructure of these two semi-crystalline polymers, when the thickness of each polymer layer decreases from micro-scale to nano-scale, was correlated to the water and gas transport properties of the PE/PA multilayers. The expected improvement of barrier properties was limited due to the on-edge orientation of crystals in very thin PE and PA6 layers. Despite this change of crystalline morphology, a slight improvement of the gas barrier properties was shown by comparing experimental results with permeabilities predicted on the basis of a serial model developed by considering a PE/PA6 interphase. This interphase observed by TEM images and the on-edge crystal orientation in multilayers were evidenced from mechanical properties showing an increase of the stiffness and the strength. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Membrane)
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16 pages, 5433 KiB  
Article
Effect of High Ammonium Salt Concentration and Temperature on the Structure, Morphology, and Ionic Conductivity of Proton-Conductor Solid Polymer Electrolytes Based PVA
by Maryam A. M. Saeed and Omed Gh. Abdullah
Membranes 2020, 10(10), 262; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10100262 - 28 Sep 2020
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3064
Abstract
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) based proton-conducting solid polymer electrolyte was prepared with a high salt concentration of ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) by the technique of solvent casting. From the X-ray diffraction studies, the semicrystalline nature of PVA with the inclusion of [...] Read more.
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) based proton-conducting solid polymer electrolyte was prepared with a high salt concentration of ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) by the technique of solvent casting. From the X-ray diffraction studies, the semicrystalline nature of PVA with the inclusion of NH4NO3 was studied. XRD analysis indicates that the highest ion conductive sample exhibits the minimum crystalline nature. The decreasing trend of Jonscher-exponent with temperature rise reveals that the present system is insured by the correlated barrier hopping (CBH) model. The maximum room temperature conductivity was found to be 5.17 × 10−5 S/cm for PVA loaded 30 wt.% of NH4NO3. The ionic transport of the proton-conducting solid polymer electrolyte was studied at the temperature range of 303–353 K. The conductivity-temperature relationship of the systems was analyzed using both the Arrhenius and Vogel–Tammann–Fulcher (VTF) models to explain the ionic hopping mechanism for the system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Membrane)
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12 pages, 2275 KiB  
Article
Amphipathic Janus Membrane with Hierarchical Multiscale Hyperporous Structure for Interfacial Catalysis
by Yakai Lin, Yuanyuan Liu, Yicheng Su, Lin Wang, Yuanhui Tang, Tianyin Liu, Liwei Ren and Xiaolin Wang
Membranes 2020, 10(8), 162; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10080162 - 23 Jul 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3262
Abstract
The rational design and realization of multiscale porous structures has been a long-standing challenge in membrane science. Block copolymers (BCPs) with their self-assembly-enabled nanodomains have the potential to make structural breakthroughs. An amphipathic Janus membrane, with a hierarchical multiscale hyperporous structure constituted by [...] Read more.
The rational design and realization of multiscale porous structures has been a long-standing challenge in membrane science. Block copolymers (BCPs) with their self-assembly-enabled nanodomains have the potential to make structural breakthroughs. An amphipathic Janus membrane, with a hierarchical multiscale hyperporous structure constituted by polystyrene-b-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS4VP) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) blocks, was designed and synthesized in this work. Hydrophobic PVDF dominated one side of the membrane, and hydrophilic PS4VP, with nanopores that formed inside the macroporous channels of PVDF via a self-assembly approach, dominated the other side. Candida Rugosa Lipase (CRL), as a model biocatalyst, was immobilized in the PS4VP nanopores via injection. The immobilized lipase was exactly suspended at the interface of the organic and aqueous phases, owing to the amphipathic property of the Janus membrane. The designed structures and catalysis performances were further characterized. The immobilized lipase exhibited a three times higher specific activity than free lipase, and the relative activity still remained above 90% after 10 cycles of reusing, indicating the observable promotion and the guaranteed stability of the Janus membrane in interfacial catalysis. This work provided a general, facile and unique example for the design and synthesis of a hierarchical multiscale hyperporous membrane for interfacial catalysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Membrane)
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22 pages, 4275 KiB  
Article
Electrical, Dielectric Property and Electrochemical Performances of Plasticized Silver Ion-Conducting Chitosan-Based Polymer Nanocomposites
by Jihad M. Hadi, Shujahadeen B. Aziz, Muaffaq M. Nofal, Sarkawt A. Hussein, Muhamad H. Hafiz, Mohamad A. Brza, Rebar T. Abdulwahid, Mohd F. Z. Kadir and Haw J. Woo
Membranes 2020, 10(7), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10070151 - 13 Jul 2020
Cited by 72 | Viewed by 4678
Abstract
In the present work, chitosan (CS) as a natural biopolymer was used to prepare nanocomposite polymer electrolytes (NCPEs) in order to reduce plastic waste pollution. The plasticized CS-based NCSPE has been prepared via the solution casting technique. The electrical properties of the films [...] Read more.
In the present work, chitosan (CS) as a natural biopolymer was used to prepare nanocomposite polymer electrolytes (NCPEs) in order to reduce plastic waste pollution. The plasticized CS-based NCSPE has been prepared via the solution casting technique. The electrical properties of the films were investigated using AC conductivity, dielectric properties, electric modulus, and electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The obtained results from the dielectric properties and electric modulus study confirm the non-Debye behavior of ion dynamics. The effect of glycerol plasticizer on ionic conductivity of the CS:AgNO3:Al2O3 system was investigated via AC conductivity and impedance studies. The conductivity of the samples was explained based on electrical equivalent circuits and Bode plots. The electrochemical properties such as transfer number measurement (TNM), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), and cyclic voltammetry (CV) were carried out to inspect the sample suitability for electrochemical double-layer capacitor (EDLC) application. The highest conductivity was 3.7 × 10−4 S cm−1 with the electrochemical stability window up to 2.1 V at room temperature. Through the TNM study, the ionic conductivity of plasticized CS-based NCSPE was confirmed, and ion transport (tion) of the highest conducting sample was found to be 0.985. The activated carbon electrode with the highest conducting sample was employed in the EDLC device fabrication. Accordingly, it can be said that the highest conducting sample had capable performance to be applied in electrochemical device application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Membrane)
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18 pages, 4780 KiB  
Article
Porous Gelatin Membranes Obtained from Pickering Emulsions Stabilized with h-BNNS: Application for Polyelectrolyte-Enhanced Ultrafiltration
by Molka Nafti Mateur, Danae Gonzalez Ortiz, Dorra Jellouli Ennigrou, Karima Horchani-Naifer, Mikhael Bechelany, Philippe Miele and Céline Pochat-Bohatier
Membranes 2020, 10(7), 144; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10070144 - 07 Jul 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3506
Abstract
In recent years, numerous studies have been conducted to develop biopolymer-based membranes, highlighting the challenges to prepare porous structures with control porosity. In this paper an innovative method that relies on the generation of Pickering emulsions was developed to prepare porous membranes from [...] Read more.
In recent years, numerous studies have been conducted to develop biopolymer-based membranes, highlighting the challenges to prepare porous structures with control porosity. In this paper an innovative method that relies on the generation of Pickering emulsions was developed to prepare porous membranes from gelatin for filtration purpose. Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNS) were used to stabilize micro-droplets of castor oil in a continuous homogeneous gelatin solution. Two steps in the membrane preparation process strongly influenced the porous structure. Specifically, the duration of the drying time after emulsion casting and the duration of the cross-linking step affected membrane pore size, hydrophobicity, water swelling, and water permeability. By controlling these two steps, membranes could be designed with pore size between 0.39 and 1.60 μm and display pure water permeability between 150 and 506 L h−1 m−2 bar−1. These membranes have been tested for complexation–ultrafiltration experiments in which iron ions were removed from aqueous solutions with/without poly (acrylic acid) (PAA). Without PAA, the removal of free iron (II) ions was low (not more than 14%). The addition of PAA (200 ppm) allowed obtaining high removal rates (97%) at pH ≥ 5 with 3 bars of transmembrane pressure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Membrane)
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20 pages, 2951 KiB  
Article
Metal Complex as a Novel Approach to Enhance the Amorphous Phase and Improve the EDLC Performance of Plasticized Proton Conducting Chitosan-Based Polymer Electrolyte
by Ahmad S. F. M. Asnawi, Shujahadeen B. Aziz, Muaffaq M. Nofal, Yuhanees M. Yusof, Iver Brevik, Muhamad H. Hamsan, Mohamad A. Brza, Rebar T. Abdulwahid and Mohd F. Z. Kadir
Membranes 2020, 10(6), 132; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10060132 - 25 Jun 2020
Cited by 49 | Viewed by 3617
Abstract
This work indicates that glycerolized chitosan-NH4F polymer electrolytes incorporated with zinc metal complexes are crucial for EDLC application. The ionic conductivity of the plasticized system was improved drastically from 9.52 × 10−4 S/cm to 1.71 × 10−3 S/cm with [...] Read more.
This work indicates that glycerolized chitosan-NH4F polymer electrolytes incorporated with zinc metal complexes are crucial for EDLC application. The ionic conductivity of the plasticized system was improved drastically from 9.52 × 10−4 S/cm to 1.71 × 10−3 S/cm with the addition of a zinc metal complex. The XRD results demonstrated that the amorphous phase was enhanced for the system containing the zinc metal complex. The transference number of ions (tion) and electrons (te) were measured for two of the highest conducting electrolyte systems. It confirmed that the ions were the dominant charge carriers in both systems as tion values for CSNHG4 and CSNHG5 electrolytes were 0.976 and 0.966, respectively. From the examination of LSV, zinc improved the electrolyte electrochemical stability to 2.25 V. The achieved specific capacitance from the CV plot reveals the role of the metal complex on storage properties. The charge–discharge profile was obtained for the system incorporated with the metal complex. The obtained specific capacitance ranged from 69.7 to 77.6 F/g. The energy and power densities became stable from 7.8 to 8.5 Wh/kg and 1041.7 to 248.2 W/kg, respectively, as the EDLC finalized the cycles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Membrane)
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