Effect of the drying temperature on sulfonated polyether sulfone nanofiltration membranes prepared by a coating method

This study reports on the preparation of a novel sulfonated polyether sulfone nanofiltration membrane via a manual coating method. The as-prepared membrane was modified by changing the drying temperature and utilizing additives. As the drying temperature was increased, the rejection performance of the as-prepared nanofiltration membrane increased, while flux decreased. The nanofiltration membrane dried at 40°C had relatively high permeation flux and good rejection performance for divalent ions and dyes; therefore, it is suitable for dye wastewater treatment. The nanofiltration membrane dried at 50°C had relatively low permeation flux and relatively good rejection performance for inorganic salts. The pore size of the skin layer was reduced as the drying temperature was increased. The average diameters of the as-prepared nanofiltration membranes dried at 40 and 50°C were 5.08 and 1.51 nm, respectively. Due to excellent hydrophilicity and relatively low roughness, the as-prepared nanofiltration membranes dried at 40 and 50°C had superior antipollution characteristics.