Antifouling and Flux Enhancement of Reverse Osmosis Membrane by Grafting Poly (3-Sulfopropyl Methacrylate) Brushes

Abstract

A commercial thin film composite (TFC) polyamide (PA) reverse osmosis membrane was grafted with 3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium (SPMK) to produce PA-g-SPMK by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The grafting of PA was done at varied concentrations of SPMK, and its effect on the surface composition and morphology was studied by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), optical profilometry, and contact angle analysis. The grafting of hydrophilic ionically charged PSPMK polymer brushes having acrylate and sulfonate groups resulted in enhanced hydrophilicity rendering a reduction of contact angle from 58° of pristine membrane sample labeled as MH0 to 10° for a modified membrane sample labeled as MH3. Due to the increased hydrophilicity, the flux rate rises from 57.1 L m−2 h−1 to 71.2 L m−2 h−1, and 99% resistance against microbial adhesion (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) was obtained for MH3 after modification

Ultrafiltration polyanionic poly (3‐sulfopropyl methacrylate) membranes with enhanced antifouling and water flux

“…The observed decrease in contact angle serves as evidence that the inclusion of a hydrophilic additive within the polymeric matrix results in a surface that is more inclined toward hydrophilicity. The inclusion of a negatively charged acrylate group‐containing hydrophilic, PSPMA polymer considerably improves the membrane specimens' ability to wetting 43 . Hydrophilic anionic charged groups that facilitate the movement of hydrophilic water molecules by hydrogen bonding and enhance the wettability are responsible for the decrease in contact angle observed after blending with PSPMA.…”

“…The inclusion of a negatively charged acrylate group-containing hydrophilic, PSPMA polymer considerably improves the membrane specimens' ability to wetting. 43 Hydrophilic anionic charged groups that facilitate the movement of hydrophilic water molecules by hydrogen bonding and enhance the wettability are responsible for the decrease in contact angle observed after blending with PSPMA. With the increase in PSPMA concentration in the blended membranes, there was an observed increase in the surface roughness thus increasing surface energy as shown in Table 2.…”

Poly(vinyl alcohol)‐based membranes for fuel cell and water treatment applications: A review on recent advancements

“…In an earlier study, Li et al 44 used CCl 3 end‐grouped polyvinyl acetate (PVAc‐CCl 3 ) as a macroinitiator to produce poly(vinyl alcohol‐ b ‐polystyrene) (PVA‐ b ‐PS) copolymer, via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). This “grafting from” technique has also been used for the surface modification of membranes, where polymer chains have been grafted via surface‐initiated polymerization through functional groups or active initiators present on the membrane surface 45,46 …”

Scalable Air-Tolerant μL-Volume Synthesis of Thick Poly(SPMA) Brushes Using SI-ARGET-ATRP

“…As such, we needed to use a dedicated reducing agent. Like poly­(DMAEMA), poly­(SPMA) is a strongly hydrophilic polyelectrolyte that has applications in antifouling and antibacterial surfaces, − reverse osmosis membranes, lubricious surfaces, − catalysts, and reversible protein adsorption . However, poly­(DMAEMA) is a weak polybase (p K a = 7.5 , that is only charged under acidic conditions, which limits the applicable pH range when high charge density is desired.…”