Functional and reusable electrodeposited coatings on porous membranes

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9409131-B2
Application number	US-201113378976-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 13, 2011
Priority date	Jun 13, 2011
Publication date	Aug 9, 2016
Grant date	Aug 9, 2016

Abstract

Functionalized membranes for use in applications, such as electrodeionization, can be prepared simply and efficiently by coating a conductive carbon nanotube and polymer membrane with a metal layer; and contacting the coated membrane with a solution comprises at least one electrochemically active and functional compound under conditions suitable for electrochemically depositing the electrochemically active and function compound on a surface of the metal-coated membrane. Such membranes may be reversible modified by chemically or electrochemically oxidizing the metal layer from the polymer membrane surface, thereby, providing a fresh surface which may be re-modified according to the preceding methods.

First claim

I claim:

1. A method for preparing a functionalized and re-metallized conductive membrane, the method comprising:
electrochemically depositing a first metal layer on a surface of a conductive membrane to form a metallized conductive membrane;
forming a functionalized conductive membrane configured as a first filtration membrane by contacting the metallized conductive membrane with a first solution comprising, either
at least one first electrochemically active compound; or
at least one first surface-modifying compound;

removing the first metal layer from the functionalized conductive membrane by subjecting the functionalized conductive membrane to one or more conditions suitable for removing the first metal layer from the functionalized conductive membrane;
electrochemically depositing another metal layer on the surface of the conductive membrane having the first metal layer removed therefrom; and
functionalizing the re-metallized conductive membrane by contacting the re-metallized conductive membrane with another solution comprising at least one second electrochemically active compound or at least one second surface-modifying compound effective to form the functionalized and re-metallized conductive membrane configured as a second filtration membrane;
wherein the at least one second electrochemically active compound or at least one second surface-modifying compound is different from the at least one first electrochemically active compound or the at least one first surface-modifying compound, respectively.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein depositing the second metal layer is carried out by contacting the conductive membrane with a second solution, wherein the second solution comprises a metal salt.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive membrane comprises a metal membrane.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive membrane comprises a polymer and conductive carbon nanotubes.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the conductive carbon nanotubes comprise single-walled carbon nanotubes or multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the conductive membrane is prepared by filtering a solution of the conductive carbon nanotubes through a polymeric membrane.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the conductive membrane is prepared by preparing a third solution comprising a polymer and the conductive carbon nanotubes; and casting the third solution to provide the conductive membrane.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first solution comprises at least one electrochemically active compound.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the electrochemically active compound comprises an aryl diazonium salt, wherein the aryl group is substituted, either directly or through a linking group, with at least one functional group.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein each electrochemically active compound is of the formula,

wherein R comprises the functional group and A″ is an electrochemically acceptable anion.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein each electrochemically active compound is of the formula,

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein each electrochemically active compound comprises an electropolymerizable monomer.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein each monomer is a (meth)acrylate or a styrene.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electrodeposition is an electroreduction.

15. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second solution comprises at least one surface-modifying compound.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the surface-modifying compound comprises at least one functional group and at least one chemical group capable of reacting with or coordinating to the first metal layer surface.

17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising contacting the functionalized conductive membrane with metal nanoparticles, wherein at least a portion of the functional groups present are capable of bonding to or coordinating to the metal nanoparticles to provide a nanoparticle-coated functionalized membrane.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the metal nanoparticles comprise Au, Ag, or Pt.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more conditions comprise electrochemical oxidation.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more conditions comprise chemical oxidation.

21. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
contacting the functionalized conductive membrane with metal nanoparticles,
wherein
the at least one electrochemically active compound or at least one surface-modifying compound comprise functional groups;
at least a portion of the functional groups are capable of bonding to or coordinating to the metal nanoparticles; and
the functionalized conductive membrane is a porous membrane.

22. A method for changing the pore size of a porous membrane, the method comprising:
forming a metallized porous membrane by electrochemically depositing a first metal layer on a surface of a porous membrane by contacting the porous membrane to a first solution having metal therein;
contacting the metallized porous membrane with a second solution including at least one first electrochemically active compound or at least one first surface-modifying compound, each including functional groups;
wherein the first metal layer is removable from the metallized porous membrane and at least a portion of the functional groups comprise nanoparticles;
forming a functionalized membrane configured as a filtration membrane by functionalizing the metallized porous membrane by depositing the at least one first electrochemically active compound or at least one first surface-modifying compound on a surface of the metallized porous membrane effective to form a first average pore size therein;
removing the first metal layer from the functionalized porous membrane by subjecting the functionalized porous membrane to one or more conditions suitable for removing the first metal layer from the functionalized porous membrane;
electrochemically depositing a second metal layer on the surface of the porous membrane having the first metal layer removed therefrom; and
functionalizing the re-metallized porous membrane by contacting the re-metallized porous membrane with another solution comprising at least one second electrochemically active compound or at least one second surface-modifying compound that is different from the at least one first electrochemically active compound or at least one first surface-modifying compound respectively, effective to form a functionalized and re-metallized filtration membrane having a different average pore size than the first average pore size.

23. The method of claim 1 , further comprising filtering a first analyte with the functionalized conductive membrane before removing the first metal layer from the functionalized conductive membrane.

24. The method of claim 23 , further comprising filtering a second analyte with the functionalized and re-metallized conductive after functionalizing the re-metallized conductive membrane and the second analyte is different than the first analyte.

Assignees

• Miller Seth Adrian
• Empire Technology Dev Llc

Inventors

• Miller Seth Adrian

Classifications

• C09D9/00

  Chemical paint or ink removers (fluid media for correction of typographical errors by coating C09D10/00) · CPC title

• C09D5/4476

  comprising polymerisation in situ · CPC title

• B01D65/02

  Membrane cleaning or sterilisation {; Membrane regeneration} · CPC title

• B01D2325/26

  Electrical properties · CPC title

• C09D5/008

  Temporary coatings (C09D5/20 takes precedence) · CPC title