Congratulations to M. Shih-Hong Liu for obtaining an honorable mention at the students' oral competition during the 2025 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers conference. 

During the 2025 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers conference, I was invited to share our work on membrane distillation.

M. Shih-Hong Liu attended the 15th conference of the Aseanian Membrane Society (AMS15) in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), where he delivered a presentation on photocatalytic membrane reactors, and was awarded for his work during the closing ceremony. Congratulations to him!

Congratulations to Ms. Lizette Ann Mendoza and M. Shih-Hong Liu for getting their work on the removal/degradation of tetracycline (TC) published in the Journal of Membrane Science.

They spray-coated PVDF membranes with δ-MnO2 (as seen on the cross-sectional SEM/EDX images of the membranes shown here), and applied the photocatalytic membrane reactor to the removal of TC, an antibiotic commonly found in water which contributes to the development of "superbugs". In this study, we tried to evaluate the contribution of the membrane on the one hand, and that of the catalytic nanoparticles on the other hand. Combining these two unit operations (membrane separation and catalysis) permitted achieving a 100% removal rate (we 'only" reached 99% in a previous work).

The next questions are: are the degradation fragments toxic or not, and can we remove them as well? we will try to answer these questions soon.

Thank you also to Prof. Maggay for her very valuable help in the writing process and the guidance of the students.

The article can be read at this link. 

The MEL members presented our group's studies at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Polymer Conference, hosted by Chaoyang University of Technology.

Congratulations to all the members of the team who took part in the event and to M. Shih-Hong Liu who was awarded for his presentation based on his Master's research on the development of a photocatalytic membrane reactor for the remediation of tetracycline from water!

The MEL members presented our group's studies at the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineering conference 2024 (2024TwIChE) hosted by our university, CYCU.

As a highlight, M.  Ting-Wei Chen was honored for his oral presentation titled, "Optimizing Wettability and Performance of Superhydrophobic Poly(vinylidene difluoride) Membranes via Vapor-Induced Phase Separation for Enhanced DCMD Applications" and was ranked 2 in the oral competition for students. In addition, M. Shih-Hong Liu and Yuan-Chen Huang received honorable mentions.

Congratulations to them and all the members of the team who took part in the event!

In our recent publication, we explored the possibility of using a commercial copolymer containing styrene groups (anchoring functions) and maleic anhydride (MA) for the zwitterionic modification of PVDF-based membranes. The MA groups can readily react with amine groups. Thus, it provides a platform for diverse modifications. Here, we grafted zwitterionic functions based on sulfobetaine methacrylate and investigated the effect of the modification on the hydration properties of the membranes,  and then on their antifouling properties. As we prepared microfiltration membranes, a potential application would be the pre-treatment of bacteria-containing wastewater.

The paper has been published in the Journal of Membrane Science (SCI, Q1) and can be viewed at this link. 

Congratulations to Ms. Huang, Ms. Wu, Mr. Lai and Mr. Liou (left to right) who successfully defended their Master's thesis.

• Ms. Huang designed asymmetric electrospun/VIPS membranes for the production of cell-free plasma.

• Ms. Wu developed a spray-coating strategy for top-to-bottom antifouling modification of porous membranes.

• Mr. Lai developed zwitterionic green membranes for bacterial removal from wastewater.

• Mr. Liou worked on a novel photocatalytic membrane reactor for addressing the issue of antibiotics in wastewater.
  
  For some of them, the work has been published. For others, it is being revised or about to be submitted. Thank you for the hard work!

Being set to graduate in June 2024, Ms. Yi-Ling Wu has just published her Master's research work, focussing on the development of antifouling membranes by spray-coating modification, in Separation and Purification Technology (SCI, Q1).

By adjusting the spray-coating parameters, Ms. Wu was able to attain full wettability of highly hydrophobic membranes, from the top surface to the bottom one, despite solely spraying an amphiphilic copolymer on the top surface. It implies that the coating penetrates the entire bulk of the membrane. It is not solely a surface modification, but a bulk modification and it is achieved in just a few seconds. Thus, it competes with common blending modification for which common issues are (1) the compatibility of the main polymer and the antifouling copolymer, and (2) surface segregation that results in low density of the antifouling material in the deeper layers. It resulted in excellent antifouling performances against various bacteria, and as such, the membranes could be utilized in wastewater treatment. 

The group members recently showcased their research work at the Annual Meeting of the Polymer Society in Tainan, held on January 24th and 25th. The conference provided a platform for them to present their work both orally and through poster presentations.

As a highlight, M.  Ting-Wei Chen and Ms. Yi-Ling Wu were honored for their presentations titled, "Manipulating VIPS parameters for wettability optimization and enhancement of the DCMD performances of PVDF membranes" and "Leveraging amphiphilic copolymers of sulfobetaine methacrylamide for the construction of sterilization-tolerant and fouling-resistant poly(vinylidene fluoride) membranes", respectively. Their dedication to their research work stood out, earning them well-deserved recognition. Congratulations to them and all the members of our lab who took part in the event!