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Influences of extractant on the hydrophilicity and performances of HDPE/PE‐ b ‐PEG blend membranes prepared via thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) process
Author(s) -
Shi JunLi,
Fang LiFeng,
Zhang Hong,
Liang ZhiYing,
Zhu BaoKu,
Zhu LiPing
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.39491
Subject(s) - membrane , chemical engineering , contact angle , materials science , solvent , peg ratio , copolymer , surface energy , hexane , polymer chemistry , swelling , surface tension , fouling , chemistry , chromatography , polymer , composite material , organic chemistry , biochemistry , economics , physics , finance , quantum mechanics , engineering
Blending the block copolymer into the membrane matrix is a convenient and efficient way for membrane modification. In this study, HDPE/PE‐ b ‐PEG membranes were prepared via TIPS process, and the extractant effect was investigated. An interesting finding was that a non‐polar extractant ( n ‐hexane) was more conducive to the surface enrichment of PEG chains than a polar solvent (ethanol). The reason was deemed to be the combined effect of entropy drive, interfacial energy, and the swelling behavior. Besides, membrane performances related to the surface chemical properties were studied. Results suggested that the prepared blend membranes extracted by n ‐hexane showed enhanced hydrophilicity, anti‐fouling property and water flux. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 2680–2687, 2013