UV-cured poly(vinyl alcohol) ultrafiltration nanofibrous membrane based on electrospun nanofiber scaffolds

A novel class of high-flux thin film nanofibrous composite (TFNC) ultrafiltration membrane, consisting of UV-cured poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydro-gel barrier layer, electrospun nanofibrous PVA mid-layer scaffold and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) non-woven substrate, was investigated. The barrier layer was fabricated by photo-crosslinking of UV-reactive PVA (UV-PVA) on a chemically cross-linked nanofibrous PVA scaffold. The effects of concentration and viscosity of the UV-PVA solution on the flux and rejection rate of the TFNC membrane were studied. It was found that UV curing of a 5-wt% UV-PVA solution coating over 20-s time period yielded a high flux, high rejection UF membrane with good fouling resistance for separation of oil and water emulsion.