A novel polysulfate hollow fiber membrane with antifouling property for ultrafiltration application

To tailor the morphology and performance of membrane precisely, exploring the principle in the phase separation process of a certain polymer is a crucial step. In this work, a novel polysulfate (PSE) was employed to fabricate a hollow fiber membrane via NIPS method for use in ultrafiltration. The PSE concentration in the dope was varied to thoroughly investigate the phase separation process from both thermodynamic and kinetic aspects. The dimension and skin morphology of the PSE hollow fiber was tuned by altering air gaps during spinning to receive a better ultrafiltration ability. The optimized PSE hollow fiber achieved a pure water flux of 83.2 L˙m−2˙h−1 (LMH), a BSA rejection of 97.9%, and a flux recovery rate of 92%, demonstrating that PSE is a novel polymer with a promising application in ultrafiltration hollow fiber membrane. [Display omitted] •A novel polysulfate (PSE) hollow fiber membrane was prepared via NIPS method.•The phase separation process of PSE was dominantly controlled by the dope viscosity-kinetic aspect.•Altering the air gaps at spinning would modify the structure of PSE hollow fiber membrane.•The optimized PSE hollow fiber membrane demonstrated a high flux of 83.2 LMH, BSA rejection of 97.9%, and flux recovery rate of 92.0%.•Excellent antifouling ability of PSE membrane was discussed detailly based on XDLVO theory.