Invited Talk: Advanced Membranes for Desalination and Water Treatment

Polyamide (PA) thin film composite (TFC) membranes, consisting of an ultrathin PA selective layer on a porous support, are the predominant material platform of membranes for desalination and water treatment. The PA selective layer is conventionally prepared via interfacial polymerization of multifunctional amine and acyl chloride monomers. Despite of its high permselectivity, the PA layer has a very complex and rough structure, which limits the performance and durability enhancement of the membrane and hampers our understanding of the structure-property relationship of the membrane. This concern necessitated the development of the fabrication technique of the PA layer with the precisely controlled and well-defined structure. In this talk, advanced membrane materials with well-defined physical and chemical PA structures were fabricated via new fabrication methods, including layered interfacial polymerization and dual slot coating, and new building block chemistry. The prepared PA layers were used as a model material platform for studying its structure-property relationship as well as a practical material platform for improving the membrane performance and durability.