• Korean Membrane Journal
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.16-23
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• 2004

The silica containing carbon (C-SiO$_2$) membranes were fabricated using poly(imide siloxane) (PIS) having -CO- swivel group. The characteristics of porous C-SiO$_2$ structures prepared by the pyrolysis of poly(imide siloxane) were related with the micro-phase separation between the imide block and the siloxane block. Furthermore, the nitrogen adsorption isotherms of the CMS and the C-SiO$_2$ membranes were investigated to define the characteristics of porous structures. The C-SiO$_2$ membranes derived from PIS showed the type IV isotherm and possessed the hysteresis loop, which was associated with the mesoporous carbon structures, while the CMS membranes derived from PI showed the type I isotherm. For the molecular sieving probe, the C-SiO$_2$ membranes pyrolyzed at 550, 600, and 700$^{\circ}C$ showed the O$_2$ permeability of 924, 1076, and 367 Barrer (1 ${\times}$ 10$\^$-10/㎤(STP)cm/$\textrm{cm}^2$$.$s$.$cmHg) and O$_2$/N$_2$ selectivity of 9, 8, and 12.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.259-290
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• 2022

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), due to their excellent physical, chemical and mechanical properties and their ability to prepare new membranes with attractive properties, have found applications in water and wastewater technology. CNT functionalization, which involves the introduction of different types of functional groups into pure CNTs, improves the capabilities of CNT membranes for water and wastewater treatment. It turns out that CNT-based membranes have many advantages, including enhanced water permeability, high selectivity and anti-fouling properties. However, their full-scale application is still limited by their high cost. With their tremendous separation efficiency, low biofouling potential and ultra-high water flux, CNT membranes have the potential to be a leading technology in water treatment in the future, especially in desalination.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.175-180
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• 2023

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) can be a promising alternative for the solution of dye removal from coloured effluents. Polymeric membranes are widely used due to their good film-forming ability, flexibility, separation properties, and cost. However, they have low mechanical, chemical, and thermal resistances. Moreover, the fouling of polymeric membranes is high because of their hydrophobic nature. Hence, there is an increasing interest in organic-inorganic hybrid membranes as a new-generation membrane material. It has been shown that carbon nanotubes have the potential to increase the material properties of polymers with their low density, high strength, hardness, and exceptional aspect ratio. In this work, carbon nanotubes blended MMMs were prepared and methyl orange removal efficiency of them was investigated. Compared to the bare membranes, MMMs showed not only increased hydrophilicity, water content, and pure water flux but also increased methyl orange rejection and flux recovery

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2015

The modification of ultrafiltration membranes with carbon nanotube (CNT) buckypaper on fouling control was investigated. Two types of commercially available flat-sheet membranes were used: PS35 and PES900C/D (PES) (the PS35 membranes were hydrophilic with a molecular weight cutoff of 20 kDa, and the PES membranes were hydrophobic with a molecular weight cutoff of 20 kDa). The CNT buckypaper modified ultrafiltration membranes were prepared by filtering a CNT suspension through the flat-sheet membrane in a dead-end ultrafiltration unit. After modification, the pure water flux of PES was significantly increased, while the pure water flux of PS35 was decreased. The properties of the CNT modified membranes were also investigated. Considering the antifouling properties, pure water flux of the modified membrane, and the stability of CNT buckypaper layer on the membrane surface, ethanol solution with a concentration of 50 wt.%, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with a larger diameter (30-50 nm), and the CNT loading with $7.5g/m^2$ was selected. The CNT buckypaper on the surface of ultrafiltration membranes can trap the pollutants in sewage effluent and prevent them reaching the surface of virgin membranes. Water quality analysis showed that the effluent quality of the modified membrane was obviously improved. The removal efficiency of humic acid and protein-like matters by the modified membrane was significant. These results indicate the potential application of the CNT buckypaper layer modified membranes in the field of wastewater reclaim.

• Carbon letters
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.139-150
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• 2012

Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), PLLA/hydroxyapatite (HA), PLLA/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)/HA, PLLA/trifluoroethanol (TFE), PLLA/gelatin, and carbon nanofibers (CNFs)/${\beta}$-tricalcium phosphate (${\beta}$-TCP) composite membranes (scaffolds) were fabricated by electrospinning and their morphologies, and mechanical properties were characterized for use in bone tissue regeneration/guided tissue regeneration. MWNTs and HA nanoparticles were well distributed in the membranes and the degradation characteristics were improved. PLLA/MWNTs/HA membranes enhanced the adhesion and proliferation of periodontal ligament cells (PDLCs) by 30% and inhibited the adhesion of gingival epithelial cells by 30%. Osteoblast-like MG-63 cells on the randomly fiber oriented PLLA/TEF membrane showed irregular forms, while the cells exhibited shuttle-like shapes on the parallel fiber oriented membrane. Classical supersaturated simulated body fluids were modified by $CO_2$ bubbling and applied to promote the biomineralization of the PLLA/gelatin membrane; this resulted in predictions of bone bonding bioactivity of the substrates. The ${\beta}$-TCP membranes exhibit good biocompatibility, have an effect on PDLC growth comparable to that of pure CNF membrane, and can be applied as scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.312-319
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• 2010

Carbon membrane materials have received considerable attention for the gas separation including hydrocarbon mixture of ingredients of the volatile organic compounds(VOCs) because they possess their higher selectivity, permeability, and thermal stability than the polymeric membranes. The use of activated carbon membranes makes it possible to separate continuously the VOCs mixture by the selective adsorption-diffusion mechanism which the condensable components are preferentially adsorbed in to the micropores of the membrane. The activated carbon hollow fiber membranes with uniform adsorptive micropores on the wall of open pores and the surface of the membranes have been fabricated by the carbonization of a thin film of phenolic resin deposited on porous alumina hollow fiber membrane. Oxidation, carbonization, and activation processing variables were controlled under different conditions in order to improve the separation characteristics of the activated carbon membrane. Properties of activated carbon hollow fiber membranes and the characterization of a gas permeation by pyrolysis conditions were studied. As the result, the activated carbon hollow fiber membranes with good separation capabilities by the molecular size mechanism as well as selective adsorption on the pores surface followed by surface diffusion effective in the recovery hydrocarbons have been obtained. Therefore, these activated carbon membranes prepared in this study are shown as promising candidate membrane for separation of VOCs.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.183-186
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• 2004

Nano particles-containing CMS membranes were prepared by pyrolysis of polyimides dispersed uniformly with precursors and their gas separation performances were examined, to elucidate the permeation mechanism and to further improve the gas separation performance. Consequently, it was suggested that the separation performance could be controlled by doping nano-particles in the CMS membranes, and that optimization of various factors, such as the size, content, and dispersion state of the nano particles would contribute for further improvement of the gas separation performance.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.109-115
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• 2008

To remove total dissolved solid (TDS) from wastewater, a carbon membrane system was prepared, using carbon membranes made from conductive activated carbon and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF). Using 100 ppm aqueous solutions of NaCl, $Na_2SO_4,\;MgCl_2,\;MgSO_4$, the basic properties of the carbon membranes used were studied. For the treatment of the real dye wastewater supplied from Kyungin Corp., a pilot scale carbon membrane system was also prepared, which was consisted of 240 plies of carbon membranes of $20cm{\times}20cm$ (length${\times}$width). Using the real wastewater with different TDS such as 941, 2050, 2810, 3830, 4960, 6030 ppm, prepared by the dilution of the original wastewater with pure water, the performance of the pilot scale carbon membrane system was studied. The effect of the operational conditions was studied.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.565-574
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• 2007

In this study, five representative, commercially available polymers, Ultem 1000 polyetherimide, Kapton polyimide, phenolic resin, polyacrylonitrile and cellulose acetate, were used to prepare pyrolyzed polymer membranes coated on a porous {\alpha}-alumina$ tube via inert pyrolysis for gas separation. Pyrolysis conditions (i.e., final temperature and thermal dwell time) of each polymer were determined using a thermogravimetric method coupled with real-time mass spectroscopy. The surface area and pore size distribution of the pyrolyzed materials derived from the polymers were estimated from the nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms. Pyrolyzed membranes from polymer precursors exhibited type I sorption behavior except cellulose acetate (type IV). The gas permeation of the carbon/{\alpha}-alumina$ tubular membranes was characterized using four gases: helium, carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen. The polyetherimide, polyimide, and phenolic resin pyrolyzed polymer membranes showed typical molecular sieving gas permeation behavior, while membranes from polyacrylonitrile and cellulose acetate exhibited intermediate behavior between Knudsen diffusion and molecular sieving. Pyrolyzed membranes with molecular sieving behavior (e.g., polyetherimide, polyimide, and phenolic resin) had a $CO_2/N_2$ selectivity of greater than 15; however, the membranes from polyacrylonitrile and cellulose acetate with intermediate gas transport behavior had a selectivity slightly greater than unity due to their large pore size.

• Korean Membrane Journal
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.25-35
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• 2002

The gas permeation properties have been studied on carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membranes prepared by pyrolysis of P84 polyimide under various conditions. P84 polyimide shows high permselectivities (O$_2$/N$_2$= 9.17 and CO$_2$/N$_2$= 35) for various gas pairs and has a good processibility because it is easily soluble in high polar solvents such as N-methylpyrrolidinone (NMP), dimethylformamide (DMF), and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc). After pyrolysis under Ar flow, the change in the heating rate was found to affect the gas permeation properties to some extent. The permeabilities of the selected gases were shown to be in the order He ＞ CO$_2$＞ O$_2$＞ N$_2$for all the CMS membranes, whose order was in accordance with the order of kinetic gas diameters. It also revealed that the pyrolysis temperature considerably influenced the gas permeation properties of the CMS membranes derived from P84 polyimide. The CMS membranes pyrolized at 700$\^{C}$ temperature exhibited the highest permeability with relatively targe loss in permselectivity. This means that the pyrolysis temperature should be varied in accordance with target gases to be separated.