International Journal of Polymer Science

Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 460898, 2 pages

http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/460898

Editorial

Polymeric Membrane Science and Technology

Hai-Yin Yu,¹ Ling-Shu Wan,² and Qian Yang³

¹College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Anhui Normal University, 1 East Beijing Road, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China

²MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China

³Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA

Received 19 September 2013; Accepted 19 September 2013

Copyright © 2013 Hai-Yin Yu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Membrane technology is becoming increasingly important due to high efficiency, low cost, and easy manipulation, and membranes are widely used in diverse fields including substance separation and purification, environment protection and remedy, and energy conversion and storage [1, 2]. Basic membrane research includes a number of scopes, including membrane surface modification [3] and its relation to membrane characterizations, membrane formation and structure on transport properties [4], theoretical analyses of membrane transport phenomena, experimental results on membrane permeation and selectivity, membrane fouling and its effect on membrane performance, membrane adsorber/membrane chromatography, membrane modules and their impact on device performance, and membrane processes/applications with a focus on the role of the membrane. In this special issue, we focus on the membrane formation and membrane surface modification and applications.

In “the solubility of hydrocarbon gases in glassy polymers: fractal modeling,” a fractal model was proposed to estimate the permeability and selectivity in gas transport through polymeric membranes; it was found that this model is very useful and it is found that the values of the solubility coefficient depend on the size of the gas penetrant molecules, their molecular interactions with the polymer, and the fractal dimensions of the polymer. The organic-inorganic hybrid membranes, including ZSM-5 filled polyether block amide membranes (PEBA) in “ZSM-5 filled polyether block amide membranes for separating EA from aqueous solution by pervaporation” vinyltriethoxysilane cross-linked polyacrylonitrile membrane and nano ZnO deposited polypropylene macroporous membrane in “Decoloring methyl orange under sunlight by a photocatalytic membrane reactor based on ZnO nanoparticles and polypropylene macroporous membrane,” can improve the desired properties of the membranes; the modified membranes possess both the advantages of the original membrane and the inorganic particles. The composite sponge of chitosan and gelatin at different proportions was prepared and the wound healing effect was evaluated; water uptake ability, antibacterial activity, and wound closure were enhanced at some extent in “Curcumin-loaded chitosan/gelatin composite sponge for wound healing application.”

Last but not least, a careful modulation of polyurethane-keratin membrane structure by isocyanate and pH was performed and the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution was performed; the results showed that the removal efficiency was significantly increased at low pH in “Polyurethane-keratin membranes: structural changes by isocyanate and pH, and the repercussion on Cr(VI) removal.”

We hope that readers will find in this special issue not only accurate data but also important questions to be resolved such as preparation of hybrid membranes for decoloring organic dyes, effects of dye and nanoparticles loadings, and damages on the membranes due to long-time irradiation.

Hai-Yin Yu

Ling-Shu Wan

Qian Yang

References

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X. M. Wu, L. L. Wang, Y. Wang, J. S. Gu, and H. Y. Yu, “Surface modification of polypropylene macroporous membrane by marrying RAFT polymerization with click chemistry,” Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 421-422, pp. 60–68, 2012.

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