A Study on the Effect of Accelerated UV Exposure on the Polymer Membrane for Outdoor Users

Polymeric membranes have been used in various applications and generally applied to the systems prevented from exterior exposure. However, polymer membranes for outdoor usages such as, an air quality monitoring and membrane reservoirs for the selective recovery of useful metals from seawater, have been newly developed. Thus it is required to investigate the prop- erties of the membrane for the outdoor use and also studies of the accelerated UV exposure onto the polymeric membranes are essential to estimate their weatherability. Herein, we report on the thermal and mechanical properties, morphology changes, and color differences of the polysulfone anisotropic membranes and non-woven type polypropylene membranes with the accel- erated UV exposure. Results showed that the effect of UV exposure on the membrane depend not only on the polymer used but also on the form of the membrane. This work can provide some of key informations of the membrane for outdoor use.