Preparation and characterization of poly(tetrafluoroethylene-cohexafluoropropylene) (FEP) hollow fiber membranes for desalination

High porosity and strong hydrophobicity of polymeric hollow fiber membranes are of great interest for membrane distillation (MD). Poly(tetrafluoroethylene-cohexafluoropropylene) (FEP) exhibits excellent chemical resistance, thermal stability, strong hydrophobicity owing to the perfluoro-structure. Comparing with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), the meltable property endows FEP good processability for fabricating hollow fiber membrane by melt-spinning method. In our previous articles, FEP hollow fiber membranes have been fabricated successfully by melt spinning method for the first time. In this study, the effect of the dioctyl phthalate (DOP) content on the performance and morphology of FEP hollow fiber membrane was discussed. And the hollow fiber membranes' properties in terms of porosity, liquid entry pressure (LEP), mean pore size and also morphologies were characterized, respectively.