Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) is widely used for the characterization of surfaces. The present work describes a novel IGC tool, the recently developed film cell module, which measures monolithic thin solid film surface properties, whereas only samples in powder or fiber state or polymer-coated supports can be studied by classic IGC. The surface energy of four different solid supports was mea...

Unravelling synthesis-morphology-performance relations of thin-film polyamide (PA) selective layers prepared via interfacial polymerization (IP) is essential for tailor-made membrane design. Here, an approach outlined, which links synthesis and morphology in terms the stability a system undergoing IP, with notion that transition from stable to unstable state corresponds morphological shift resu...

To evaluate the significance of thin-film composite membrane surface morphology on water productivity, flat-sheet experiments were conducted with silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide, and cerium dioxide nanoparticles. The polyamide thin-film active layer exhibited a valley and ridge morphology that was directly related to the surface roughness, and was found to contribute to particle accumulation ...

Interfacial polymerization is widely used today for the production of ultrathin films for encapsulation, chemical separations, and desalination. Polyamide films, in particular, are employed in manufacturing of reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes. While these materials show excellent salt rejection, they have rather low water permeability, both properties that apparently stem from the r...

Online commingled yarns were spun with three different polymeric matrices, namely polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA) and polylactic acid (PLA) and glass fibers. Tailored sizings were applied for the three matrices and the resulting mechanical performance of unidirectional composites was evaluated and compared. Significant improvements in the fiber/matrix bonding were achieved by employed sizing...

The surface-limited molecular-layer deposition of alkyl-aromatic polyamide films using sequential doses of 1,4-butane diamine (BDA) and terephthaloyl dichloride (TDC) is characterized using in situ quartz crystal microbalance and ex situ spectroscopy analysis. For the first time, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy is used to offer insight into molecular orientation ...

Thin Film Composite – Polyamide (TFC-PA) are commonly used reverse osmosis (RO) membranes in water desalination and waste water applications. Their poor chlorine tolerance and fouling characteristics constrain the life and performance leading to stringent chemical pretreatment requirements. In this context, development of fouling resistant and chlorine tolerant RO membranes would be relevant to...

Pyrrole-imidazole (PI) polyamide is a novel gene regulating agent that competitively inhibits transcription factor binding to the promoter of the specific target gene. Liver fibrosis is an integral stage in the development of chronic liver disease, and transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) is known to play a central role in the progression of this entity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the...