Fundamental studies of novel inorganic-organic charged zwitterionic hybrids

A series of novel hybrid charged mosaic membranes have been prepared through a coupling reaction and zwitterionic process. This kind of coupling reaction was conducted between phenylaminomethyl trimethoxysilane (PAMTMS) and Ti(O-nBu)4 modified by acetylacetone, which was proved by FTIR spectra and the conventional properties of the membranes. Ion-exchange capacity (IEC) measurements indicate that both anion-exchange capacities (an-IECs) and cation-exchange capacities (cat-IECs) of the membranes coated one to three times are in the range of 4.62 × 10−4 to 1.48 × 10−2 and 1.57 × 10−2 to 3.2 × 10−2 meq. cm−2, respectively; while these IECs increase with the elevating Ti-content. Streaming potentials exhibit that the isoelectric points (IEPs) of the membranes coated one time are in the range of pH 6-7.5 and decrease with the increasing Ti-content; but for those coated two times, the IEPs are in the range of pH 6-7.0 and increase with the rising Ti-content. Water content demonstrates a decline tendency with the rising pH whether for the membranes coated one or two times. Pure water flux reveals a downward trend with both the increasing coating times and the ingredients of hybrid precursors. The surface morphologies of the membranes coated three times show that the membrane microstructures can be affected by the compositions of coating solutions, while cross-section SEM images suggests that the membrane thickness elevates with the increasing coating times.