Effect of Nanochannel Size of Surface Treated Thru-Hole Alumina Membrane in Rejection of Polar Molecules

초록

This paper presents the effect of nanochannel size of surface treated thru-hole alumina membrane in rejection of polar molecules. Polar molecules of methyl blue in a methyl blue aqueous solution were rejected by the equivalent charge of a surface-treated thru-hole alumina membrane. Thru-hole alumina membranes, having four different nanochannel diameters, were fabricated by the two-step aluminum anodic oxidation and wet-etching processes. Surface of the fabricated thru-hole alumina membrane was negatively charged using 3-(triethoxysilyl) propylsuccinic anhydride (TEPSA), which includes a carboxyl group. A methyl blue aqueous solution of 10 mu M, which possessed negative charge, was injected through a negatively charged thru-hole alumina membrane to investigate its rejection ability. In the experiment using pristine thru-hole alumina membrane, it was observed that the methyl blue molecules passed through the nanochannel of the thru-hole alumina membrane, except for the molecules that were adsorbed to the surface of alumina membrane. In contrast, 95.2% of the methyl blue molecules were rejected by the electrical repulsive force of the surface-treated thru-hole alumina membrane. Also, efficient methyl blue rejection rate of nearly 96% was maintained in proper nanochannel diameter range of 150 to 200 nm.

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