Effects of hydrogen bond donors on PVDF membrane modification using choline chloride-based deep eutectic solvents

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were investigated as promising candidates in modifications towards hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes based on its hydrophilic and hygroscopic properties. Five choline chloride-based DESs with various hydrogen bond donor (HBD) components were investigated as PVDF membrane modifiers by blending it with the membrane dope solution at 2 wt%. The incorporation of DESs appeared to influence the structure and morphology of the membranes, where macrovoid formations were suppressed and the formation of thin, densely porous skin layers were promoted as observed through SEM imaging. DES incorporation showed effects in contact angle reduction of the PVDF membranes from 90.22° to 60.07°, indicating hydrophilic modifications. Additionally, modifications with DESs yielded improvements in membrane flux (62.49 L/m2·h using glycerol-HBD) and protein solute rejection (74.62 % using glucose-HBD), though the overall tensile strength of the membranes were decreased from 4.24 MPa to the lowest value of 2.92 MPa. Ultimately, DESs were shown to be significant pore-forming agents in altering the morphology of PVDF membranes, and improving the thermal stability. Among the five tested DESs, PVDF modified with glycerol-HBD DES yielded the best membrane parameters and performances. DESs were demonstrated as prospective membrane modifiers in inducing hydrophilicity and influencing membrane morphology.