Thermal, mechanical, and structural properties of zno/polyethylene membranes made by thermally induced phase separation method

In this study, ZnO/polyethylene membranes were fabricated via thermally induced phase separation method. A set of tests including FE-SEM, EDX, XRD, DSC, TGA, DMA, mechanical test, and pure water flux (PWF) for characterization of membranes were carried out. The results of EDX, XRD, and TGA analyses confirmed the presence of ZnO nanoparticles in the polymer matrix. The results of DSC analysis revealed that the melting point as well as the crystallinity of the membranes increased slightly with increasing ZnO content. However, glass transition temperature of the membranes was not affected by presence of the particles. Addition of nanoparticles also increased storage modulus, loss modulus. and tensile at break of the membranes due to the stiffness improvement effect of inorganic ZnO. Finally, it was observed that incorporation of the nanoparticles improved PWF of the membranes, whereas humic acid rejection decreased due to the increase in mean pore radius of membranes. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42338.