pH-sensitive microfiltration membrane prepared from polyethersulfone grafted with poly(itaconic acid) synthesized by simultaneous irradiation in homogeneous phase.

Poly(itaconic acid) (PIA) was grafted onto polyethersulfone (PES) by homogeneously phased γ-ray irradiation. Kinetic polymerization observed was studied by analyzing the effect of irradiation dosages and monomer concentrations. Then, a pH-sensitive microfiltration (MF) membrane was prepared from these PES-g-PIA polymers with different degrees of grafting under phase inversion method. Finally, the contact angles, morphologies, pore sizes, deionized water permeability and filtration performance for aqueous polyethylene glycols solution of the MF membranes were studied. The results show that grafting PIA groups onto PES molecular chains endowed the MF membranes with effective pH-sensitive properties.

Tailoring graphene oxide assemblies by pinning on the contact line of a dissolving microdroplet.

The controlled dissolution of microdroplets on a supporting substrate is an effective approach that can be used to tune the assembled microstructure of basic units suspended within the droplet. In this work, we studied the self-assembly of two-dimensional graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets driven by the dissolution of a microdroplet situated at the interface between a solid substrate and the surrounding liquid phase. We found that although uniform microstructures form at the liquid-liquid interface of the droplets, the contact between the droplet and the substrate can give rise to a variety of different morphologies near the base of the droplet. In particular, pinning effects at the boundary of the dissolving droplet on the substrate lead to non-spherical GO assemblies. The results in this work demonstrate the possibility that tailored three-dimensional architectures of nanosheets assembled in a dissolving droplet may be achieved through control of the wetting properties of the droplet on the supporting substrate.

Antifouling and Antioxidant Properties of PVDF Membrane Modified with Polyethylene Glycol Methacrylate and Propyl Gallate.

In this study, molecules of propyl gallate (PG) and polyethylene glycol methacrylate (PEGMA) were covalently bonded via a transesterification reaction and subsequently grafted onto polyvinylidene fluoride substrates using a homogeneous radiation grafting technique. The enhancement of the membranes' hydrophilicity with the increment of the grafting rate was corroborated by scanning electron microscopy imaging and measurements of the water contact angle. At a grafting degree of 10.1% and after a duration of 4 min, the water contact angle could decrease to as low as 40.1°. Cyclic flux testing demonstrated that the membranes modified in this manner consistently achieved a flux recovery rate exceeding 90% across varying degrees of grafting, indicating robust anti-fouling capabilities. Furthermore, these modified membranes exhibited significant antioxidant ability while maintaining antifouling performance over 30 days. The ability of the modified membranes to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS+) free radicals remained nearly unchanged after being stored in pure water for 30 days, and the flux recovery rate remained above 95% after immersion in sodium hypochlorite solution for 30 days. Among the tested membranes, the PVDF-g-PEGMAG modified membrane with a grafting degree of 7.2% showed the best antioxidant effect.

A PEGylated PVDF Antifouling Membrane Prepared by Grafting of Methoxypolyethylene Glycol Acrylate in Gama-Irradiated Homogeneous Solution.

In this study, methoxypolyethylene glycol acrylate (mPEGA) served as a PEGylated monomer and was grafted onto polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) through homogeneous solution gamma irradiation. The grafting process was confirmed using several techniques, including infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermodynamic stability assessments, and rotational viscosity measurements. The degree of grafting (DG) was determined via the gravimetric method. By varying the monomer concentration, a range of DGs was achieved in the PVDF-g-mPEGA copolymers. Investigations into water contact angles and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images indicated a direct correlation between increased hydrophilicity, membrane porosity, and higher DG levels in the PVDF-g-mPEGA membrane. Filtration tests demonstrated that enhanced DGs resulted in more permeable PVDF-g-mPEGA membranes, eliminating the need for pore-forming agents. Antifouling tests revealed that membranes with a lower DG maintained a high flux recovery rate, indicating that the innate properties of PVDF could be largely preserved.

Anti-fouling and protein separation of PVDF-g-PMAA@MnO2 filtration membrane with in-situ grown MnO2 nanorods.

MnO2 nanorods with controllable scale were grown in the PVDF-g-PMAA modified membrane to form PVDF-g-PMAA@ MnO2 membrane through the in situ redox reaction of KMnO4 solution, which is confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray energy-dispersion spectroscopy (EDX). The pore size of the membrane decreased with the increase of KMnO4 solution concentration. The thermodynamic stability and the hydrophilicity of the membrane were also enhanced by the MnO2 nanorods. The water flux, bovine serum albumin (BSA)/Lysozyme protein solution flux and rejection, flux recovery, etc. showed effective improvement of the anti-fouling performance of the PVDF-g-PMAA@ MnO2 membrane. More importantly, it can effectively separate BSA from lysozyme, which provided a potential application in the field of biology, food, and other industrial fields for the requirement of separation and purification.

Antifouling Membranes Prepared from Polyethersulfone Grafted with Poly(ethylene glycol) Methacrylate by Radiation-Induced Copolymerization in Homogeneous Solution.

To synthesize evenly grafted copolymers, gamma radiation of homogeneous solutions was employed to graft poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) onto polyethersulfone (PES). The grafting was verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and the degrees of grafting (DGs) were determined by elementary analysis. The PES-g-polyPEGMA copolymers with different DGs were obtained by changing the monomer concentration. Membranes were cast from pristine PES, PES/PEG blends, and PES-g-polyPEGMA with different DGs, respectively, via nonsolvent-induced phase separation. Results from water contact angle measurements and scanning electron microscopy analysis indicated that increasing DGs led to PES-g-polyPEGMA membranes with increasing hydrophilicity and porousness. Filtration experimental results showed that increasing DGs without adding pore-forming agents caused PES-g-polyPEGMA membranes with higher permeability. Compared with PES/PEG membranes with analogous permeation characteristics, in which PEG is added as a pore-forming agent, PES-g-polyPEGMA membranes exhibited superior antifouling properties.