Preparation of Hierarchical Highly Ordered Porous Films of Brominated Poly(phenylene oxide) and Hydrophilic SiO(2)/C Membrane via the Breath Figure Method

Porous permeable films materials have very broad prospects in the treatment of sludge-containing waste water due to their large surface area and good microfiltration. In this work, highly ordered porous membranes have been prepared successfully on ice substrates using a poly(phenylene oxide) (BPPO)-SiO(2) nanoparticle (NP) mixture by the breath figure method. Based on the theory of Pickering emulsion system and capillary flow, particle assisted membrane formation was analyzed. Another two sorts of new membranes SiO(2)/C membrane and hierarchical porous polymer (HPP) membrane, which were obtained by modification of the BPPO-SiO(2) membrane by calcination and etching, were set up in a further study. Their properties were investigated through the methods of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), ultraviolet spectrum (UV), capillary electrophoresis (CE), contact angle, and water flux tests. All these results demonstrate that both surface hydrophilicity and fouling resistance of the membrane would be improved by using SiO(2) as a filler. The membranes with high permeability and antifouling properties were used for microfiltration applications.