Preparation and characterization of polysulfone membrane incorporating cellulose nanocrystals extracted from corn husks

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) extracted from corn husks were used as additive to modify the hydrophilicity and anti-fouling properties of polysulfone (PSf) membrane. The PSf/CNCs blend membranes were prepared via an immersion phase inversion method. The influence of CNCs content on the morphology, structure, and performances of PSf membrane were carefully investigated by SEM, TG, DTG, DSC, break strength, elongation-at-break, Young modulus, contact angle and filtration experiment. The results showed that the isolated CNCs from corn husks were a promising additive for modifying the properties of PSf membrane. CNCs can improve mechanical property, thermal stability, hydrophilicity and anti-fouling performance of the pure PSf membrane. The PSf/CNCs blend membrane reached optimal properties at 2 wt% CNCs content, which was 2.76 and 1.57 times in pure water flux and FRR values respectively as compared to pure PSf membrane. Meanwhile, PSf-2 also can maintain a relatively high BSA rejection.