AVS 62nd International Symposium & Exhibition
    Applied Surface Science Tuesday Sessions
       Session AS+BI-TuA

Paper AS+BI-TuA7
Surface versus Bulk Chemistry of Reverse Osmosis Membranes

Tuesday, October 20, 2015, 4:20 pm, Room 212D

Session: Challenges in the Characterization of Polymer/Organic/ Biological Systems
Presenter: Tamlin Matthews, The Dow Chemical Company
Authors: T. Matthews, The Dow Chemical Company
R. Cieslinski, The Dow Chemical Company
M. Paul, The Dow Chemical Company
A. Roy, The Dow Chemical Company
Correspondent: Click to Email
The polyamide layer of reverse osmosis (RO) thin-film composite membranes is ~100 nm thick. Separation of this thin layer from the supporting layers is a complex process and can only be done chemically, which results in a fragile polyamide layer and makes characterization challenging. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, near-surface) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS, bulk) have been applied to characterize the polyamide layer, without the need to separate polyamide from the supporting layers. The combination of these methods allows the comparison of bulk vs. near-surface carboxylic acid content, which is a driver in RO performance. Additionally, elemental composition, thickness, and roughness of the RO membranes can be compared in systems with systematically changed monomers. This talk will focus on how the application of XPS and RBS can be used together for surface vs bulk chemical composition.