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This paper presents a new surface modification strategy to develop a poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)-based membrane having a hydrophilic surface, high nutrient ion permeability, sufficient mechanical strength, and organic fouling resistance, using an anthracene (ANT)-attached polyethylene glycol (PEG) surface modification agent (SMA) synthesized in this work. During the modification process, the ANT parts of the SMAs poke through and anchor to the surface of a commercial PET woven fabric via physical interactions and mechanical locking. The PEG chain parts coat the surface in the brush and arch forms, which generates a hydration layer on the fabric surface. The consequently obtained surface property and unique structure of the modified PET-based membrane result in higher nitrate ion permeability, organic fouling resistance, and microalgae production compared to those of the unmodified one. These are also affected by the molecular weight of the PEG and the number density of the anchored SMAs. The study demonstrates that this new surface modification method has the potential to allow the development of a desirable PET-based membrane for the efficient massive production of marine microalgae.

We report a systematic rheological analysis of perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomer monolayers at the air/water interface. Equipped with a custom-designed double wall knife-edge interfacial rheometer, we measure both the linear and nonlinear viscoelasticity of various PFSA ionomer monolayers. Based on rheological measurements along with other static measurements, we find that the rheological properties of the PFSA ionomer monolayers mainly originate from the electrostatic interaction of negatively charged groups (SO3−) rather than direct interactions between backbones, as is typical of other polymeric monolayers. Although the rheological properties mainly come from the SO3− groups, equivalent weight (EW) and length of the side chain affect the rheological properties as well: (1) surface activity increases with EW, thereby a larger EW tends to have stiffer interfaces; (2) PFSA ionomer with longer side chains also has larger shear moduli at the same surface pressure (Π), presumably because the longer side chain has larger configurational entropy, thus leading to better closed packing. Moreover, it is found from Π dependent measurements that both the elastic and viscous moduli exhibit unusually weak dependence on Π compared with typical polymeric and surfactant monolayers. The weak Π dependence can be explained in terms of charged colloids with long-range repulsive interactions, as they are susceptible to shear stress but resistive to compressional stress. This rheology of ionomers and their underlying morphology at the interface are expected to provide useful information for various membrane applications where ultrathin membranes can be helpful, such as ion exchange membranes and fuel cell/flow battery membranes.

Various collapse mechanisms of colloidal particle layers (e.g., wrinkling, flipping, folding, etc.) at a fluid–fluid interface have been reported, but formation of particle multilayers with large areas has not been observed yet. With the help of depletion pressure that provides a resistance to out-of-plane deformations of a colloidal particle monolayer, we report a new collapse mechanism of the particle monolayer at an air–water interface, which forms large-area particle multilayers with more than two layers. Furthermore, by adjusting the strength of the depletion pressure or the compression distance at the state of collapse, we also observe that the number of layers of particle multilayers varies significantly, and these results agree well with classical theories for thin elastic films floating atop water.

Herein we report the deformation of PDMS-based particles at a liquid–liquid interface at varying degrees of softness. Direct visualization of the particle adsorption to the interface reveals at least five different modes of deformation from the complete spreading of a polymer resin droplet to a non-deforming, rigid particle.