Abstract
Utilization of sustainable and environmentally friendly solvents for the preparation of membranes has attracted growing interest in recent years. In this work, a polyester thin film composite solvent resistant nanofiltration (SRNF) membrane is prepared by interfacial polymerization on a cellulose support. The cellulose support is prepared by nonsolvent-induced phase separation from a dope solution containing an ionic liquid as an environmentally friendly solvent (negligible vapor pressure). The polyester film is formed via the interfacial reaction between quercetin, a plant-derived polyphenol, and terephthaloyl chloride. Alpha-pinene is used as a green alternative solvent to dissolve terephthaloyl chloride (TPC) while quercetin is dissolved in a 0.2 m NaOH solution. The interfacial polymerization reaction is successfully confirmed by Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy while scanning electron and atomic force microscopy are used to characterize the membrane structure. The composite membrane shows an outstanding performance with a molecular weight cut-off around 330 Da combined with a dimethylformamide (DMF) permeance up to 2.8 L m(-2) bar(-1) h(-1). The membrane is stable in strong aprotic solvents such as DMF offering potential application in the pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries.