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pps proceeding
Symposium: Nanocomposite Materials & Processing
Oral Presentation
 
 

Solvent-Free Production of Electrically Conductive Polymer Membranes via Sintering

Otto Christian (1)*, Handge Ulrich Alexander (1), Aschenbrenner Ortrud (2), Kerwitz Juliane (2), Abetz Clarissa (1), Abetz Volker (3)

(1) Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht - Schleswig-Holstein - Germany, (2) FutureCarbon GmbH - Bayern - Germany, (3) Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, University of Hamburg - Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg - Germany

Electrically conductive membranes for filtration applications offer several technological advantages. Of very high interest is their ability to combat membrane fouling, which is a major problem in pressure driven filtration processes. For example, the deposition of electrically charged particles can be hindered through electrophoresis. Cleaning through gas production by electrolysis of water can also be performed. Because of their high aspect ratio and electrical conductivity, carbon nanotubes are promising fillers to increase the electrical conductivity of polymer membranes. A noticeable concern of membrane production is that many processes involve solvents that are hazardous to the environment. In this study, a solvent-free sintering process was applied to sinter electrically conductive porous membranes using polyetherimide (PEI, UltemŪ 1000P, Sabic) and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE, GURŪ 2126, Celanese) powder particles. The particle surfaces are covered by pristine multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Covering of the polymer powders is performed with an innovative and purely mechanical process (Patent DE102010013210A1). Sintering as a low-stress process preserves the high aspect ratio of MWCNT and minimizes their displacement and therefore agglomeration. The influence of the MWCNT concentration was investigated by characterising the morphology, electrical conductivity and membrane properties of the nanocomposites. Scanning electron micrographs reveal that the MWCNT formed a network structure inside the composite. So far a specific conductivity of up to 2.5 S/m was attained for PEI membranes with a MWCNT concentration of 3.0 wt%. The membranes show a very low membrane resistance around 107 m-1 for PEI and 108 m-1 for UHMWPE. In addition, the presence of the MWCNT hinders the fusion of two adjacent particles, which is favourable for an open porous structure and a high permeability.