Solution comprising a sulfone polymer and a N-acyl-pyrrolidine of formula I wherein R.sup.1 to R.sup.9 independently from each other are a hydrogen atom or a methyl group. The solution is applied in membrane formation with polyvinylpyrrolidone as optional component.

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Described in the present application are methods of producing silane-crosslinked polymer membranes at moderate temperatures using acid catalysts that, in certain embodiments, result in membranes with unexpectedly high permeabilities and selectivities. In certain embodiments, grafting and crosslinking of the silanes occur by immersing a preformed membrane in a solution comprising a silane and an acid catalyst. Alternatively, in certain embodiments, grafting of silanes to a polymer occurs in the presence of acid catalyst in solution and subsequent casting and drying produces crosslinked membranes. In certain embodiments, an acid catalyst is a weak acid catalyst. Also described in the present application are asymmetric crosslinked polymer membranes with porous layers. In certain embodiments, crosslinked cellulose acetate membranes have permeability up to an order of magnitude greater than the permeability of unmodified cellulose acetate membranes. The membranes have porous layers with a high porosity due to their processing in moderate conditions.

An object of the present invention is to provide a porous hollow-fiber membrane satisfying both high strength and high pure-water permeation performance and at the same time, having high bending resistance. The present invention relates to a porous hollow-fiber membrane including a fluororesin-based polymer, in which the porous hollow-fiber membrane has a columnar texture oriented in a longitudinal direction of the porous hollow-fiber membrane and when a photograph of a cross-section parallel to the longitudinal direction of the porous hollow-fiber membrane is binarized into a structure portion and a void portion, the following 1) and 2) are satisfied: 1) a proportion of an area of the void portion is from 20 to 50%, and 2) a value obtained by dividing a total of peripheral lengths of the void portions by a total of areas of the void portions is 2.0 ?m.sup.?1 or less.

An electrolyte membrane is prepared from a liquid composition comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of trivalent cerium, tetravalent cerium, bivalent manganese and trivalent manganese; and a polymer with a cation-exchange group. The liquid composition is preferably one containing water, a carbonate of cerium or manganese, and a polymer with a cation-exchange group, and a cast film thereof is used as an electrolyte membrane to prepare a membrane-electrode assembly. The present invention successfully provides a membrane-electrode assembly for polymer electrolyte fuel cells being capable of generating the electric power in high energy efficiency, having high power generation performance regardless of the dew point of the feed gas, and being capable of stably generating the electric power over a long period of time.

A method for manufacturing a filter membrane for inhibiting microorganisms includes the following steps: obtaining a nano-zinc precursor and dissolving it into water, adding at least one reducing agent and interfacial agent to the water, thereby reducing zinc ions of the nano-zinc precursor to zinc particles so as to form liquid having nano-zinc particles; respectively placing the liquid having nano-zinc particles and a polymer material into plastic masterbatch process equipment, respectively volatilizing the fluid having nano-zinc particles and polymer material through the plastic masterbatch process equipment, performing air extraction and mixing by the plastic masterbatch process equipment, and adding at least one grafting agent to perform a mixed graft link, allowing the nano-zinc particles and polymer material to be linked together stably so as to form a plastic masterbatch having nano-zinc particles; and making the plastic masterbatch into a filer membrane through film making equipment.

A polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) casting membrane solution is shaped as a flat sheet membrane by thermally induced phase separation (TIPS), the PVDF membrane is defluorinated with an alkaline potassium permanganate solution, and then the carbon chain is extended with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) as the graft monomer, and finally the nucleophilic substitution is carried out between melamine and GMA to produce a chelating microfiltration membrane for capturing and enriching heavy metals with high flux and high capacity.

An electrolyte membrane is prepared from a liquid composition comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of trivalent cerium, tetravalent cerium, bivalent manganese and trivalent manganese; and a polymer with a cation-exchange group. The liquid composition is preferably one containing water, a carbonate of cerium or manganese, and a polymer with a cation-exchange group, and a cast film thereof is used as an electrolyte membrane to prepare a membrane-electrode assembly. The present invention successfully provides a membrane-electrode assembly for polymer electrolyte fuel cells being capable of generating the electric power in high energy efficiency, having high power generation performance regardless of the dew point of the feed gas, and being capable of stably generating the electric power over a long period of time.

Metallopolyimide precursor fibers for aging-resistant carbon molecular sieve hollow fiber membranes having enhanced selectivity include transition metal cations complexed with electronegative regions of a polyimide. CMS membranes are made by pyrolyzing the metallopolyimide precursor fibers. The cations are introduced by including, in the bore fluid used to extrude the fibers, either a salt of the transition metal and an inorganic anion or a transition metal/organic ligand complex.

Described in the present application are methods of producing silane-crosslinked polymer membranes at moderate temperatures using acid catalysts that, in certain embodiments, result in membranes with unexpectedly high permeabilities and selectivities. In certain embodiments, grafting and crosslinking of the silanes occur by immersing a preformed membrane in a solution comprising a silane and an acid catalyst. Alternatively, in certain embodiments, grafting of silanes to a polymer occurs in the presence of acid catalyst in solution and subsequent casting and drying produces crosslinked membranes. In certain embodiments, an acid catalyst is a weak acid catalyst. Also described in the present application are asymmetric crosslinked polymer membranes with porous layers. In certain embodiments, crosslinked cellulose acetate membranes have permeability up to an order of magnitude greater than the permeability of unmodified cellulose acetate membranes. The membranes have porous layers with a high porosity due to their processing in moderate conditions.

Metallopolyimide precursor fibers for aging-resistant carbon molecular sieve hollow fiber membranes having enhanced selectivity include transition metal cations complexed with electronegative regions of a polyimide. CMS membranes are made by pyrolyzing the metallopolyimide precursor fibers. The cations are introduced by including, in the spin dope composition used to extrude the fibers, either a salt of the transition metal and an inorganic anion or a transition metal/organic ligand complex.