Nanoporous asymmetric polyaniline films for filtration of organic solvents

A new family of functional materials is reported for organic solvent nanofiltration, with excellent chemical stability and high retention of solute molecules. Integrally skinned asymmetric polyaniline (PANI) membranes were fabricated from concentrated solutions of doped PANI by phase inversion. Doped PANI solutions were prepared by adding organic acids directly to PANI dissolved in a mixture of NMP and 4-methyl piperidine before casting. Among the organic acids investigated, maleic acid, phthalic acid, sulfosalicylic acid and camphorsulfonic acid were able to dope PANI without causing gelation. These acids acted as soft templates, creating nanoporosity in the thin skin layer of the asymmetric PANI film. Their removal by alkaline extraction created membranes through which small solvent molecules can pass. After extracting the organic acids, the membranes were thermally crosslinked which conferred excellent solvent stability. These membranes had a molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) in the range of 150–250 g mol−1 in methanol, making them the tightest OSN membranes reported to date. It was found that an increase in crosslinking temperature or time led to a decrease in solvent flux. PANI membranes were found to be resistant to a variety of organic solvents such as ethyl acetate, acetonitrile and acetone. These remarkable membranes have the potential to be used in OSN operations at high temperatures (up to 150 °C), and gave increasing fluxes with increasing temperature while maintaining a high solute rejection.