• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.393-403
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• 2021

Enzymes are important class of catalyst for biotransformation. Stability and reusability of enzymes during the catalysis process is a key issue. Activity of enzyme can be enhanced by its immobilization on a suitable substrate by creation of specific microenvironment. A variety of membranes has been used as substrate due to the biocompatibility and simpler method to tune hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity property of the membrane surface. In this review, polymer membranes including cellulose, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyethersulfone (PES) are introduced and discussed in detail. Biodegradation of organic contaminants by immobilized enzyme is an environmental friendly process to reduce the contamination of environment in pharmaceutical company and textile industries. The controlled hydrolysis of oil can be performed in enzyme immobilized membrane bioreactor (EMBR), resulting in reducing carbon emission and reduced environmental pollution. Bioethanol and biodiesel are considered alternative fossil fuels that can be prepared in EMBR.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.420-430
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• 2005

This study was performed to change the hydrophilic $NH_4Y$-zeolite to the hydrophobic one for removal of VOCs by removing the $Al^{3+}$ in the zeolite-structure to increase the Si/Al ratio, for which the three pelleted $NH_4Y$-zeolite samples were contacted separately with the steam of $400^{\circ}C$, $500^{\circ}C$ and $600^{\circ}C$, respectively, in a stainless steel column for 4 hours. Then extraction of the ex-structure aluminum of the hydrolyzed zeolites with the nitric acids of 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 0.10 M at $90^{\circ}C$ in 500 mL-flasks, respectively, according to steam temperature were followed. XRD analysises of the dealuminated zeolites showed that the peaks of the zeolites that had been hydrolyzed with the steams of both $500^{\circ}C$ and $600^{\circ}C$ are distorted more with the increase of the concentration of nitric acid used for extraction of the ex-structure aluminums, however, those hydrolyzed with steam of $400^{\circ}C$ became amorphous phase when treated with the all nitric acids of four concentrations. Also the EDX analysises showed that the BET surface areas and TPVS of the zeolites that had been hydrolyzed with the steam of $600^{\circ}C$ were increased with the concentration of the nitric acid when the nitric acids of 0.25 M and 0.5 M had been used but decreased when the nitric acids of 0.75 M and 1.0 M had been used. These results led to the conclusion that both the $600^{\circ}C$ and $500^{\circ}C$-steam and the 0.5 M-nitric acid are appropriate to change the hydrophilic $NH_4Y$-zeolites to the hydrophobic one, which were proven by the measurement of the benzene and tolune-adsorbing capacities showing the same trend as the BET surface area and TPV The Si/Al ratios and water-adsorbing capacities of the dealuminated zeolites were increased and decreased, respectively, with the concentration of the nitric acids so that it showed that the hydrophobicity is increased.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.388-393
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• 2013

The study was focused to evaluate the possibility for combination membrane of bacterial cellulose (BC) and graphene with high electrical properties. BC with natural polymer matrix was known to have strong physical strength. For the combination of graphene with BC, the surface of graphene was modified with oxygen plasma by changing strength and time of radio waves in room temperature. Water contact angle of modified graphene grew smaller from $130^{\circ}$ to $12^{\circ}$. XPS analysis showed that oxygen content after treatment increased from 2.99 to 10.98%. Damage degree of graphene was examined from $I_D/I_G$ ratio of Raman analysis. $I_D/I_G$ ratio of non-treated graphene (NTG) was 0.11, and 0.36 to 0.43 in plasma treated graphene (PTG), increasing structural defects of PTG. XRD analysis of PTG membrane with BC was $2{\theta}$ same to BC only, indicating chemically combined membrane. In FT-IR analysis, 1,000 to 1,300 $cm^{-1}$ (C=O) peak indicating oxygen radicals in PTG membrane had formed was larger than NTG membrane. The results suggest that BC as an alternation of plastic material for graphene combination has a possibility in some degree on the part like transparent conductive films.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.16-34
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• 2021

Water supplies are decreasing in comparison to increasing clean water demands. Using nanofiltration is one of the most effective and economical methods to meet the need for clean water. Common methods for desalination are reverse osmosis and nanofiltration. However, pristine membranes lack the essential features which are, stability, economic efficiency, antibacterial and antifouling performances. To enhance the properties of the pristine membranes, graphene oxide (GO) is a promising and widely researched material for thin film composites (TFC) membrane due to their characteristics that help improve the hydrophilicity and anti-fouling properties. Modification of the membrane can be done on different layers. The thin film composite membranes are composed of three different layers, the top filtering active thin polyamide (PA) layer, supporting porous layer, and supporting fabric. Forward osmosis (FO) process is yet another energy efficient desalination process, but its efficiency is affected due to biofouling. Incorporation of GO enhance antibacterial properties leading to reduction of biofilm formation on the membrane surface. Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) is an excellent process to generate clean energy from sea water and the biofouling of membrane is reduced by introduction of GO into the active layer of the TFC membrane. Different modifications on the membranes are being researched, each modification with its own advantages and disadvantages. In this review, modifications of nanofiltration membranes and their composites, characterization, and performances are discussed.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.172-176
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• 2005

Environmentally friendly water dispersion polyurethanes containing fluorine were prepared with a fluorinated polyol having $62\%$ of fluorine $(Fluorolink^{(R)}\;M_n\;1000)$. In order to control the fluorine contents of the synthesized polyurethanes polytetramethylene glycol (PTMG2000) and $Fluorolink^{(R)}$ were mixed at assigned ratios and reacted with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) as a diisocyanate used. Introducing hydrophilic anion to the polymer chain was achieved by applying dimethyl propionic acid (DMPA). The ionic groups were neutralized with triethyl amine (TEA) before dispersion into water. Chain extension was executed by adding ethylene diamine at the final stage. Mechanical properties of the polymers showed that modulus increased with increasing $Fluorolink^{(R)}$ content. Surface energy values obtained from contact angle measurement decreased with increasing $Fluorolink^{(R)}$ content up to $20\%$. We expect that the synthesized polyurethanes present reliable effect from the fluorine atoms incorporated even at a small amount of $Fluorolink^{(R)}$.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.143-149
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• 2022

Membrane distillation (MD) has emerged as a sustainable desalination technology to solve the water and energy problems faced by the modern society. In particular, the surface wetting properties of the membrane have been recognized as a key parameter to determine the performance of the MD system. In this study, a novel surface modification technique was developed to induce a Janus-type hydrophilic/hydrophobic layer on the membrane surface. The hydrophilic layer was created on a porous PVDF membrane by vapor phase polymerization of the pyrrole monomer, forming a thin coating of polypyrrole on the membrane walls. A rigid polymeric coating layer was created without compromising the membrane porosity. The hydrophilic coating was then followed by the in-situ growth of siloxane nanoparticles, where the condensation of organosilane provided quick loading of hydrophobic layers on the membrane surface. The composite layers of dual coatings allowed systematic control of the surface wettability of porous membranes. By the virtue of the photothermal property of the hydrophilic polypyrrole layer, the desalination performance of the coated membrane was tested in a solar MD system. The wetting properties of the dual-layer were further evaluated in a direct-contact MD module, exploring the potential of the Janus membrane structure for effective and low-energy desalination.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.303-312
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• 2006

The asymmetric hybrid membranes of polyethersulfone (PES) and $ZrO_2$ nanoparticles were prepared via new one-step procedure combining simultaneously the phase-inversion method and the sol-gel technique. The optimum contents of $Zr(PrO)_4\;and\;HNO_3$ catalyst were determined by the adsorption experiments of phosphate anion onto the resulting hybrid membranes. The maximum adsorption of phosphate anion is obtained at the conditions of 0.15 mL $Zr(PrO)_4$ addition per 1 mL PES and 30 mL $HNO_3$ addition per 1 mL $Zr(PrO)_4$. Variation of morphology, performance and incorporated $ZrO_2$ amount of the resulting hybrid membranes were discussed and determined using SEM, pure water flux, TGA, ICP, XRD and contact angle measurements. Increasing $Zr(PrO)_4$ addition into casting solution, pure water flux is increased and $ZrO_2$ amount in the hybrid membrane is maximized at the conditions 0.15 mL $Zr(PrO)_4$ addition per 1 mL PES. The prephosphatation of PES-$ZrO_2$ hybrid membrane was studied to modify the surface characteristics of membrane. Ultrafiltration of bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution was performed in a dead-end cell using both a bare (non-phosphated) and a phosphated hybrid membrane. It is revealed that both the permeate flux and BSA rejection were increased as about 40% by prephosphatation of hybrid membrane. These results may be explained on the basis of the increase of membrane hydrophilicity, which was determined from contact angle measurements.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.418-425
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• 2015

Polycaprolactone (PCL) and biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) have been considered as useful materials for orthopedic devices and osseous implants because of their biocompatibility and bone-forming activity. However, PCL-based scaffolds have hydrophobic surfaces reducing initial cell adhesion or proliferation. To overcome the limitation, we fabricated surface-modified PCL/BCP nanofibers using gamma-irradiation for bone tissue engineering. PCL/BCP nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning and then we supplemented hydrophilicity by introducing acrylic acid (AAc) through gamma-irradiation. We confirmed the surface of nanofibers by SEM, and then the initial viability of MG63 was significantly increased on the AAc grafted nanofibers, and alkaline phosphatase activity($1.239{\pm}0.226nmole/{\mu}g/min$) improved on the modified nanofibers than that on the non-modified nanofibers($0.590{\pm}0.286nmole/{\mu}g/min$). Therefore, AAc-grafted nanofibers may be a good tool for bone tissue engineering applications.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.31-36
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• 2001

Teflon-like fluorocarbon thin film was deposited by using difluoromethane$(CH_2F_2$) added with Ar, $O_2$, and $CH_4$ on Si, $SiO_2$, TEOS, and Al substrate. The deposited thin film was characterized by static contact angles for measuring hydrophobicity in various additive gas ratio. temperature, and working pressure. In case of addition with Ar, the static contact angles decreased as additive gas ratio and power increased. But the static contact angles increased as working pressure increased. Specially, super-hydrophobic surface was obtained using the powder-like fluorocarbon thin film above 2 Torr. Added with $O_2$, the static contact angles decreased as the $O_2$ ratio and working pressure increased. And the static contact angles did not change in 100W, but hydrophilic surface was obtained at 200W. In case of addition of CE$_4$, static contact angles dramatically increased in $CH_4/CH_2F_2$ ratio 5. And continuous static contact angles obtained above ratio 5. As compare with previous experiments by thermal evaporation, the fluorocarbon thin film by plasma polymerization was obtained very low hysteresis. This results shows more homogenous surface by plasma polymerization than thermal evaporation process.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.438-443
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• 2011

In order to enhance water permeability through the improvement of fouling phenomena and wettability of hydrophobic porous membranes, various adsorption materials, i.e., poly(vinyl amine), poly (styrene sulfonic acid), poly(vinyl sulfonic acid), and poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) were adsorbed onto the surface of polyethylene (PE) porous membrane. The concentration of adsorption solutions, adsorption time, the sort of salts and their ionic strength were varied, and the pure water permeability of their resulting adsorbed membranes was measured. In general, water permeability increased with an initial increase in the concentration of adsorption solution, adsorption time, and ionic strength and then decreased with a further increase. The pure water permeability of 375 $L/m^2h$(LMH), 35% enhancement, was obtained at a condition of poly(vinyl sulfonic acid) 1000 ppm, $Mg(NO_3)_2$ ionic strength(IS) 0.1, and adsorption time 150 sec, while the 50% (411 LMH) and 35% (374 LMH) enhancements were obtained at conditions of poly(styrene sulfonic acid) 1000 ppm, adsorption time 60 sec, and NaCl IS 0.1 and 0.2, respectively.