title: Ultrafiltration membranes with a thin poly(styrene)-b-poly(isoprene) selective layer.
abstract: Ultrafiltration membranes with an 80 nm thick block polymer derived selective layer containing 20 nm cylindrical pores were prepared by removing poly(lactide) (PLA) from a poly(styrene)-b-poly(isoprene)-b-poly(lactide) (PS-PI-PLA) film onto a microporous polymer support. The block polymer film adopted a core(PLA)-shell(PI) cylindrical morphology in which vertically-oriented PLA cylinders were degraded to leave PI-lined channels in a PS matrix. Thanks to the combination of PS and PI in the nanoporous matrix, chemical cross-linking was not needed to provide mechanical stability in the thin film. The membranes showed a hydraulic flux of 165 L m(-2) h(-1) bar(-1) and were able to size-discriminate poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) solutes in agreement with theoretical predictions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Querelle
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Edward L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Cussler
authors.forename: Marc A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hillmyer