Study of polyamide-6 hollow fiber membranes prepared via a thermally induced phase-separation method

Hollow fiber membranes of polyamide-6(PA6) with porous structure were prepared by a thermally induced phase-separation method. N-Ethyl-o/p-toluene sulfonamide was chosen as diluent. On the basis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, porosity, bubble point pore diameter and pure water flux, the influential factors including polymer concentration, coagulation bath temperature, post-stretching were investigated. The results indicate that with the increasing of PA6 concentration 'slit-shaped' pores in inner surfaces and cellular structure in cross-sections disappear, correspondingly, the properties of membranes such as porosity and pure water flux become poor. As the coagulation bath temperature varied from 20°C to 50°C, the pure water flux of membranes is improved from 136 to 244 Lm,-2h-1. Post-stretching make the 'interfacial micro-pores' expand due to 'stress concentration' phenomenon, thus changing the structure and improving the properties of membranes. PA6 hollow fiber membranes with rational structure and high performance could be obtained by altering polymer concentration, coagulation bath temperature and post-stretching.