Versatile antifouling polyethersulfone filtration membranes modified via surface grafting of zwitterionic polymers from a reactive amphiphilic copolymer additive.
Here we describe the development of versatile antifouling polyethersulfone (PES) filtration membranes modified via surface grafting of zwitterionic polymers from a reactive amphiphilic copolymer additive. Amphiphilic polyethersulfone-block-poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PES-b-PHEMA) was beforehand designed and used as the blending additive of PES membranes prepared by phase inversion technique. The surface enriched PHEMA blocks on membrane surface acted as an anchor to immobilize the initiating site. Poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA) were subsequently grafted onto the PES blend membranes by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). The analysis of surface chemistry confirmed the successful grafting of zwitterionic PSBMA brushes on PES membrane surface. The resulted PES-g-PSBMA membranes were capable of separating proteins from protein solution and oil from oil/water emulsion efficiently. Furthermore, the modified membranes showed high hydrophilicity and strongly antifouling properties due to the incorporation of well-defined PSBMA layer. In addition, the PES-g-PSBMA membranes exhibited excellent blood compatibility and durability during the washing process. The developed antifouling PES membranes are versatile and can find their applications in protein filtration, blood purification and oil/water separation, etc.
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecule Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China.
Yi-Fan
YF
Zhao
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecule Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China.
Pei-Bin
PB
Zhang
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecule Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China.
Jian
J
Sun
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecule Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China.
Cui-Jing
CJ
Liu
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecule Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China.
Zhuan
Z
Yi
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecule Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China. Electronic address: lpzhu@zju.edu.cn.
Li-Ping
LP
Zhu
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecule Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China.
You-Yi
YY
Xu
Antifouling; Biocompatibility; PES membrane; Surface-initiated ATRP; Zwitterionic polymer