Janus Nanofibrous Membranes for Desalination by Air Gap Membrane Distillation

The hydrophobic/hydrophilic dual-layer membrane can be considered as a membrane with two different surface properties. It is also named the Janus membrane by researchers for the mythical god with two faces. Janus membranes could possibly offer the potential for membrane distillation applications with better performance. In this study, a set of Janus nanofibrous membranes were fabricated by electrospinning and initiated chemical vapor deposition. The supporting layer is the nanofibrous membrane with the intrinsically hydrophilic property. The active layer is the iCVD-treated superhydrophobic layer with the same structure and morphology. The Janus nanofibrous membranes were composed with various thickness configurations and tested in an air gap membrane distillation system. The MD performance and the heat/mass transfer through the Janus nanofibrous membranes were investigated.