Zeolite-impregnated polypropylene melt-electrospun membranes for filtration applications

Combining zeolites (Zeo) through electrospinning is a developing area, with relatively few studies dedicated to the production of zeolite/polymer composites. Therefore, creating highly effective filters by using a polymer base and zeolite has become necessary. In this study, a combination of polypropylene (PP) melt and zeolite by electrospinning technique is employed to fabricate a PP-Zeo filter membrane. The average fiber diameter of PP-Zeo filter membrane was found as 1 +/- 0.02 mu m. To improve the filtration efficacy, the surface of PP/Zeo membranes was modified using zeolite by two methods, electrospraying and chemical activation. According to SEM and EDX, results showed that a significantly different Al/Si atomic percentage was obtained by chemical activation compared to the electrospraying method. Additionally, the surface roughness (Sa) values significantly improved following the surface modification procedure. The surface roughness of PP/Zeo membranes modified with 5% (w/v) zeolite using the chemical activation method was 0.189 mu m, compared to 0.143 mu m for pure PP. This work presents a facile and effective preparation method to be used as filter for membrane filtration applications.Highlights Polyprophylene (PP) and zeolite (Zeo) were combined for effective filtration. PP or PP/Zeo fiber membranes were prepared by melt-electrospinning. The surface was modified comparatively using electrospraying and Garcia methods. SEM analyses indicated that the surface was coated with zeolite particles.