Preparation and properties of PEC nanocomposite membranes with carboxymethyl cellulose and modified silica

•Silica modified with polyelectrolyte was synthesized.•Membranes were prepared incorporation of modified silica.•Membranes demonstrate enhanced mechanical property and separation performance.

Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-modified silica nanocomposites were prepared via in situ incorporation of modified silica during the ionic complexation between CMC and poly(2-methacryloyloxy ethyl trimethylammonium chloride) (PDMC). Ionic bonds were introduced between the poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylproanesulfonic acid) modified silica (SiO2-PAMPS) and the polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) matrix. The PEC nanocomposites (PECNs) and their membranes (PECNMs) were characterized with Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tensile testing. PECNM containing 5 wt.% SiO2-PAMPS showed a tensile strength of 68 MPa and elongation at break of 7.1%, which were 1.9 and 2.6 times as high as those of pristine PEC membranes, respectively. Moreover, the pervaporation performance of as-prepared PECNMs was evaluated with dehydration of 10 wt.% aqueous isopropanol mixtures, and the PECNMs exhibited a flux of 2400 g m−2 h−1 with a high separation factor of 4491 at 70 °C.