The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane bundle from a plurality of polysulfone and PVP-based hollow fiber membranes which encompasses the providing of a spinning solution comprising a polysulfone-based material, in particular polysulfone, a vinylpyrrolidone-based polymer, in particular polyvinylpyrrolidone, an aprotic solvent, in particular dimethylacetamide, providing a coagulant liquid comprising water and an aprotic solvent, in particular dimethylacetamide, co-extruding the spinning solution and the coagulant liquid through a concentric annular spinneret into a hollow strand, whereby the cavity of the strand is filled with coagulant liquid, conducting the strand through a precipitation gap, introducing the strand into a precipitating bath comprised substantially of water so as to obtain a hollow fiber membrane, conducting the hollow fiber membranes through at least one rinsing bath and drying the hollow fiber membrane obtained, arranging the resulting hollow fiber membranes into a hollow fiber membrane bundle, and treating the hollow fiber membrane bundle with water vapor.

Asymmetric films, methods of making asymmetric films, and uses of asymmetric films. A method may include using at least two different solvents and at least one homopolymer and at least one block copolymer that can undergo self assembly, where the solvents are immiscible and have different surface tension, where, on film formation, all or substantially all of the block copolymer(s) migrate to an exterior surface of the homopolymer. The asymmetric films may include an isoporous region or layer and an asymmetric region or layer, where the asymmetric region does not include 10 percent by weight or more of the multiblock copolymer(s) and/or the isoporous region/layer and the asymmetric pore region/layer are not independently (or separately) formed and/or not laminated together to form the asymmetric film. The films can be used in devices, such as, for example, filtration devices.

In the production of a polyphenylsulfone porous hollow fiber membrane by a wet spinning method or a dry-wet spinning method using a spinning dope comprising a water-soluble organic solvent solution of polyphenylsulfone, hydrophilic polyvinylpyrrolidone, and ethylene glycol, wherein N,N-dimethylformamide with a concentration of 70 to 100 wt. %, preferably 85 to 100 wt. %, more preferably 100 wt. %, is used as a core liquid. The resulting porous hollow fiber membrane enables stable production without imposing burdens on the environment and provides a water purification membrane having high water permeability and excellent filtration performance.

A membrane for the purification of blood, or a dialysis membrane, in hollow-fiber membrane or flat membrane geometry, made of a composite assembled from at least a base membrane based on at least one polysulfone or a polyphenylsulfone with at least one pore-forming hydrophilic additive and at least one functional layer arranged on the base membrane, whereby the functional layer is formed from at least one polymeric polycationic bonding agent and at least one polymeric polyanion, whereby the base membrane is made of a material which is selected from: a polysulfone [PSU], a sulfonated polysulfone [SPSU], a polyethersulfone [PES], a sulfonated polyethersulfone [SPES], a polyphenylsulfone [PPSU], a sulfonated polyphenylsulfone [SPPSU]; and mixtures of these.

A carbon nanotube membrane including carbon nanotubes having a pre-selected bonding configuration or (m, n) chirality, wherein the carbon nanotube membrane has a substantial amount of carbon nanotubes having zigzag (m, 0) chirality and/or armchair (m, m) chirality. An apparatus for the treatment of a carbon-based membrane, a method for treating carbon based membranes, pellicles including carbon based membranes, lithographic apparatuses includes carbon nanotube membranes, as well as the use of carbon nanotube membranes in lithographic apparatuses and methods are also described.

Disclosed herein are forward osmosis (FO) membranes comprising polyaniline. Methods of making the membranes, including methods of tuning the properties of the membranes by post-casting treatments, and methods of using the membranes in FO applications are also described.

The present invention relates to a process for producing a fluoropolymer article having a high surface roughness and high coarseness which comprises the following steps: a) forming a paste comprising a fluoropolymer into a paste-formed fluoropolymer product at a temperature lower than 50 C., b) densifying the paste-formed product, and c) stretching the densified paste-formed fluoropolymer product in at least one direction.

The present invention further relates to a fluoropolymer article obtainable by a process according to the invention.

The present invention furthermore relates to a fiber comprising, or consisting of, a fluoropolymer having a surface roughness expressed as a peak to valley distance (Rt) greater than 10 micrometer and/or an average surface roughness (Ra) greater than 1.5 micrometer.

The present invention furthermore relates to a membrane comprising, or consisting of, a fluoropolymer having a coarseness index /EBP of at least 0.3, an air permeability of 15 ft.sup.3/ft.sup.2/min or higher and a node aspect ratio of below 25.

The invention concerns a method for producing a superhydrophobic membrane or surface coating of a substrate from an aqueous phase comprising the following steps: a) Preparing an aqueous dispersion by dispersing particles of hydrophobic polymer(s) in an aqueous solution of protic polymer(s), wherein the protic polymer(s) and the hydrophobic polymer(s) are present in a weight ratio of protic polymer(s):hydrophobic polymer(s) in a range of 5:95 to 22:78, b) electrospinning the dispersion of step a) onto a carrier for producing the membrane or onto the surface for producing the surface coating thereby producing at least one fiber and a nonwoven fabric from the fiber, c) subjecting the nonwoven fabric to a sol-gel process, wherein a precursor/precursors of the sol-gel comprise(s) an alkoxysilane, and d) curing the nonwoven fabric obtained by step c) at a temperature in a range of 50 C. to 150 C.

An asymmetric hollow fiber (CMS) carbon molecular sieve is made by providing a dope solution comprised of a polvimide and a solvent, at a temperature greater than 250 C. that is less than the storage modulus at a temperature of 250 C., but no more than ten times less as measured using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis from 250 C. to a temperature where the polyimide carbonizes. The polvimide is shaped into a hollow polvimide fiber, the solvent removed and the polyimide hollow fiber is heated to pyroiyze the polvimide and form the asymmetric hollow carbon molecular sieve. The asymmetric hollow fiber carbon molecular sieve has a wall that is defined by an inner surface and outer surface of said fiber and the wall has an inner porous support region extending from the inner surface to an outer raicroporous separation region that extends from the inner porous support region to the outer surface. Surprisingly, when the polyimide has the particular storage modulus characteristics, the method allows for the hollow fiber CMS to be made without any pre-treatmenis or additives to inhibit stractural collapse of the inner microporous region.

Provided are: a porous polyether sulfone film having macrovoids and having excellent dimensional stability; and a production method therefor. Provided is a porous polyether sulfone film having a surface layer (a), a surface layer (b), and a macrovoid layer interposed between the surface layer (a) and the surface layer (b). The macrovoid layer has a partition wall joined to the surface layers (a) and (b) and a plurality of macrovoids surrounded by the partition wall and the surface layers (a) and (b). The surface layer (a) and the surface layer (b) have pores connected to the macrovoids.