Preparation, properties, and application of polypropylene micro/nanofiber membranes.

Nanofiber membranes have huge potential applications in many areas due to their unique properties. However, the thermoplastic micro/nanofiber membranes were rarely reported. In this paper, polypropylene (PP) nanofibers were prepared by melt extrusion of immiscible blends of PP, cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB), and subsequent removal of the CAB matrix. The wet-laid application was used to make PP nanofiber membranes and PP-g-MAH/nonwoven micro/nanofiber membrane. The properties of membranes including morphology, apparent density, porosity, contact-angle, pore size distribution, and water flux were characterized. The results showed that the consequent membranes were provided with optimistic porosity and pore size distribution. Moreover, they were all with high pure water fluxes, which were superior to that of PP microporous membrane. They performed an excellent separation performance of TiO₂ suspension and dyeing wastewater. The work revealed this method could be an efficient one to make thermoplastic polymer micro/nanofiber membranes, and they would have a brilliant potential application for water treatment. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]