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A novel antifouling and thermally stable polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes with sulfobetaine polyimide as porogen
Author(s) -
Li Dalong,
Sun Xiuhua,
Wang Wei,
Gao Hongwei,
Huang Yudong,
Gao Changlu
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
polymers for advanced technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.61
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1099-1581
pISSN - 1042-7147
DOI - 10.1002/pat.5141
Subject(s) - polysulfone , membrane , biofouling , ultrafiltration (renal) , materials science , phase inversion , polyimide , chemical engineering , thermal stability , polymer chemistry , polymer , porosity , chromatography , composite material , chemistry , layer (electronics) , biochemistry , engineering
Polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes were prepared with sulfobetaine polyimide (s‐PI) via phase inversion process, during which s‐PI migrated and enriched on the surfaces of membranes/pores due to its hydrophilic nature. Therefore, s‐PI not only enhanced surface hydrophilicity, but also acted as a pore‐forming agent. It was proved that the introduction of s‐PI effectively promoted membrane porosity and antifouling ability. Under optimized conditions, the pure water flux of blend membranes reached 220.58 L m −2 h −1 with a protein rejection ratio of 99.3%, and a flux recovery ratio of 90.86%, indicating the superior antifouling property and filtration performances of zwitterionic polymer blend membranes. Moreover, the blend membrane can stand a temperature of 90°C without degrading its separation performance. Besides excellent thermal stability, the blend membranes exhibited a distinctly advanced mechanical strength due to the addition of rigid s‐PI polymer. Overall, this study provided a facile and scalable method for the preparation of antifouling and thermally stable ultrafiltration membranes.