Equilibrium and kinetics of wetting hydrophobic microporous membrane in sodium dodecyl benzene sulphonate and diethanolamine aqueous solutions

Liquid penetrations into hydrophobic capillaries are controlled by the adsorption and diffusion of the solute in the vicinity of the moving meniscus. The wetting process of microporous hydrophobic polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane was investigated in both sodium dodecyl benzene sulphonate (SDBS) and diethanolamine (DEA) aqueous solutions. The experimental results revealed that wetting both the PVDF and PTFE membranes in SDBS solutions at high concentrations proceeded in two stages: rapid wetting and slow wetting, but this transition in the wetting rate was not observed during the membrane wetting at low SDBS concentration and in DEA solutions. The membrane wetting process was accelerated by increasing the solution temperature.