Fabrication and Characterization of Polycaprolactone / Nanozeolite Membrane Films via Phase Inversion Technique

Abstract

This research focused on the fabrication and characterization of polycaprolactone (PCL)/nanozeolite(NZ) membrane films. PCL/NZ membrane blends were produced at varying amounts of NZ (0 wt. %, 0.5 wt. % and 1.0 wt. %).The membranes produced were characterized using a.) Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) in determining the surface morphologies, b.) UTM to evaluate the effect of NZ addition on the tensile strength of PCL, and c.)contact angle goniometer to investigate the effect of NZ on the wettability of PCL/NZ membrane blends. Upon characterization, the SEM result showed that increasing NZ concentration increased the presence of pores and pore-like structures on the PCL/NZ system. Also, the tensile strength of the PCL/NZ blend improved with the addition of NZ. Lastly, the contact angle measurements obtained showed enhanced membrane hydrophilicity because of the hydrophilic NZ present on the matrix. The incorporation of NZ on PCL generally improved its properties based the different characterizations conducted.