Investigation of fine-structure of polyamide thin-film composite membrane under swelling effect by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulation

Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation analyses were adopted for an in-depth understanding at the molecular scale of the variation in the fine-structure of polyamide active layers of thin-film composite (TFC) membranes in the dry or the wet condition. The interfacial polymerization reaction between 1,3-diaminopropane (DAPE) and succinyl chloride (SCC) or between DAPE and trans-3,6-endomethylene-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthaloyl chloride (tNBDC) on the surface of a modified polyacrylonitrile (mPAN) membrane was carried out to fabricate DAPE-SCC/mPAN or DAPE-tNBDC/mPAN TFC membranes. PALS and MD simulation experimental results were highly consistent with each other.

Graphical AbstractThree-dimensional representation of fractional accessible volume in DAPE-SCC (a, b) and DAPE-tNBDC (c, d) polyamide active layers: (a, c) dry state, (b, d) wet state. (Probe radius was set as 0.8 Å). Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (203 K)Download as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Microstructure variation of different polyamide active layers was discussed. ► Swelling effect associated with the pervaporation process was investigated. ► PAS and MD techniques showed good correlation with the pervaporation performance.