Electron tomography reveals details of the internal microstructure of desalination membranes.

ABSTRACT: As water availability becomes a growing challenge in various regions throughout the world, desalination and wastewater reclamation through technologies such as reverse osmosis (RO) are becoming more important. Nevertheless, many open questions remain regarding the internal structure of thin-film composite RO membranes. In this work, fully aromatic polyamide films that serve as the active layer of state-of-the-art water filtration membranes were investigated using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy tomography. Reconstructions of the 3D morphology reveal intricate aspects of the complex microstructure not visible from 2D projections. We find that internal voids of the active layer of compressed commercial membranes account for less than 0.2% of the total

SUBMITTER: Culp TE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6126755 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature