Methods of membrane modification

1. A method of manufacturing an asymmetric porous membrane, comprising:

forming a casting solution comprising an organic polymer and an inorganic polymer, wherein the casting solution is formed by dissolving the organic polymer in an organic solvent in the presence of a first silane and polymerizing the first silane to form the inorganic polymer, wherein the casting solution is formed in the absence of any nanoparticles;

forming a reactive non-solvent bath comprising surface functionalized nanoparticles dispersed in a non-solvent, wherein the reactive non-solvent bath is formed by mixing nanoparticles and a second silane in a non-solvent, wherein the nanoparticles include Ag, Au, titania, zirconia, ceria, a rare earth oxide, or silica and wherein the second silane is an amino silane; and

immersing the casting solution in the reactive non-solvent bath to form a modified asymmetric porous membrane with nanoparticles attached to a surface and/or pores of the asymmetric porous membrane.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first silane is tetraethylorthosilicate, silicon tetrachloride, silanol-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, chlorine-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, ethoxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, methoxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, triethoxysilylethyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, dimethylamino-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, (3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane, or N1-(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl)diethylenetriamine.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first silane is a Z-terminated alkoxy or halo silane in which Z is a moiety that is compatible with, soluble within, or reacts with at least one of the nanoparticles or a functional group on the nanoparticles, wherein Z is hydroxy, sulfhydryl, sulfinate, sulfinic acid, epoxy, sulfonate, sulfonic acid, disulphide, carboxyl, carboxylate, amine, amide, alkoxysilyl, halosilyl, phosphate, phosphonic acid, phosphonate ester, phosphinate, phosphinic acid, or phosphinate ester.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dissolved organic polymer includes polyethyleneimine.

5. A method of manufacturing a membrane, comprising:

forming a casting solution comprising an organic polymer and an inorganic polymer, wherein the casting solution is formed by dissolving the organic polymer in an organic solvent in the presence of a first silane and polymerizing the first silane to form the inorganic polymer, wherein the casting solution is formed in the absence of any nanoparticles,

forming a reactive non-solvent bath comprising surface functionalized nanoparticles dispersed in a non-solvent, wherein the reactive non-solvent bath is formed by mixing nanoparticles and a second silane in a non-solvent, and

immersing the casting solution in the reactive non-solvent bath to form an asymmetric membrane with the nanoparticles attached thereto, wherein the nanoparticles attach to the membrane via a reaction involving the inorganic polymer and surface functionalized nanoparticles.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the nanoparticles include Ag, Au, titania, zirconia, ceria, a rare earth oxide, or silica.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the surface functionalized nanoparticles comprise a functional group selected from the group consisting of a hydroxy, a thio, an amino, and a carboxy.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first silane is tetraethylorthosilicate, silicon tetrachloride, silanol-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, chlorine-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, ethoxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, methoxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, triethoxysilylethyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, dimethylamino-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, (3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane, N1-(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl)diethylenetriamine.

9. The method of claim 5 , wherein the organic polymer is selected from polyolefins, ethylene-propylene rubbers, ethylene-propylene-diene monomer terpolymers (EPDM), polystyrenes, polyvinylchloride (PVC), polyamides, polyacrylates, celluloses, polyesters, polyethers, polysulphones, polyazoles, polyvinylhalides, polyhalocarbons, polyethyleneimine, polymers or copolymers of ethylene, propylene, isobutene, butene, hexene, octene, vinyl acetate, vinyl chloride, vinyl propionate, vinyl isobutyrate, vinyl alcohol, allyl alcohol, allyl acetate, allyl acetone, allyl benzene, allyl ether, ethyl acrylate, methyl acrylate, acrylic acid, and methacrylic acid.

10. The method of claim 5 , wherein the organic polymer is selected from polyetherimides, polyacrylonitriles, polysulfones, polyoxadiazoles, polytriazoles, and polyvinylfluorides.

11. The method of claim 5 , wherein the surface functionalized nanoparticles are covalently attached to the asymmetric membrane.

12. The method of claim 5 , wherein the inorganic polymer is a polysilsesquioxane network formed by a sol-gel process.

13. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first silane is a Z-terminated alkoxy or halo silane in which Z is a moiety that is compatible with, soluble within, or reacts with at least one of the nanoparticles or a functional group on the nanoparticles; and wherein Z is hydroxy, sulfhydryl, sulfinate, sulfinic acid, epoxy, sulfonate, sulfonic acid, disulphide, carboxyl, carboxylate, amine, amide, alkoxysilyl, halosilyl, phosphate, phosphonic acid, phosphonate ester, phosphinate, phosphinic acid, or phosphinate ester.

14. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first silane is an epoxy-terminated alkoxy or halo silane and the second silane is an amino silane.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the epoxy group and amino group react to covalently attach the surface functionalized nanoparticles to the membrane.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first silane is glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GMS) and wherein the second silane is N1-(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl)diethylenetriamine.

17. The method of claim 5 , wherein the nanoparticles are TiO 2 nanoparticles.

18. The method of claim 5 , wherein the non-solvent is water.

19. The method of claim 5 , wherein the organic polymer is a polyetherimide or a polyetherimide sulfone.