Hydrophilic/hydrophobic property changes on polyacrylonitrile/cellulose acetate nanofiber membrane

Nanofibers membrane are potential material for water filtration, and surface properties of the membrane are an important factor to avoid fouling on the membrane surface. The combination of filter material is known to influence the membrane surface properties. We investigated the mixture of polyacrylonitrile(PAN) and cellulose acetate(CA) on the nanofiber membrane by electrospinning. This blend was dissolved in dimethylformamide as feed polymer in electrospinning technique. We prepared the ratio of PAN to CA were 0:10, 4:6, 5:5, 6:4, and 10:0 in 8 wt. All the membranes formed fiber, except 0:10 which only created a thin layer from the sprays. Contact angle measurements related to membrane surface properties were measured and resulted in 128o, 126o, and 125o for 4:6, 5:5 dan 6:4 membranes, respectively. This results indicated that all PAN/CA membranes had hydrophobic properties. The hydrophobic property was also observed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, a sharp peak of-CH3 appeared. It is interesting while mixing two hydrophilic polymers we obtain a hydrophobic membrane. © 2020 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland.