Fabrication and Characterization of Cellulose Acetate/Organo-Montmorillonite Composite Membrane for Ion Adsorption

Abstract

This study presents the results of modifications done to cellulose acetate (CA) membranes intended for filtration purposes using organo-montmorillonite (O-MMT) clay. The researchers incorporated O-MMT with CA to synthesize composite CA/O-MMT membranes via hand casting. The produced membranes were then characterized to determine the effect of O-MMT of varying % wt. concentrations to its surface morphology and wettability. Morphology of the membranes were observed under a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), while its wettability was accounted for by subjecting the samples to contact angle and porometer analysis. SEM images revealed that the presence of O-MMT generally affects the membrane’s surface roughness while the pore size test results show that increasing the concentration of O-MMT leads to a larger average pore size. Conductivity test data suggest that though becoming less hydrophilic, the modified membranes still hold efficient in removing the salt ions from the solution and that the amount of O-MMT concentration present in the CA/O-MMT membranes is the main determining factor behind its efficacy for ion adsorption.