MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China; Research Center for Membrane and Film Technology, Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan.
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, PR China.
Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2020 Nov;195:111212. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2020.111212. Epub 2020 Jun 24.
In this work, a swelling induced entrapment technique was developed to enhance the hydrophilicity and antifouling performances of polypropylene (PP) microfiltration membranes. By this method, three amphiphilic polymers with different chemical structures (i.e., a homopolymer (polypropylene glycol), a di-block copolymer (oligoethylene glycol monooctadecylether), and a tri-block copolymer of ethylene glycol (EO) and propylene glycol) were successfully implanted onto membrane surfaces to be polymer brushes with high density, without having a significant effect on the membrane pore structure. The polymer brushes significantly enhanced the hydrophilicity and protein fouling resistance of the membrane. In particular, when using the di-block copolymer with a short hydrophilic EO chain, the modified membrane showed a low water contact angle, down to 20°, and low adsorption of bovine serum albumin of 1.1 μg cm. Furthermore, the implanted polymer brushes exhibited excellent durability. The hydrophobic segments of amphiphilic polymers played a leading role in the implantation and stability of the brushes on the PP membrane surface. This work provides a feasible strategy to achieve surface hydrophilicity and antifouling performances in a hydrophobic membrane for use in high-efficiency water treatment.
在这项工作中，开发了一种溶胀诱导包埋技术，以提高聚丙稀（PP）微滤膜的亲水性和抗污染性能。通过这种方法，三种具有不同化学结构的两亲聚合物（即均聚物（聚丙二醇）、二嵌段共聚物（聚乙二醇单十八醚）和聚乙二醇（EO）和丙二醇的三嵌段共聚物）成功地植入到膜表面上，形成高密 度的聚合物刷，而对膜孔结构没有显著影响。聚合物刷显著提高了膜的亲水性和抗蛋白质污染性能。特别是，当使用具有短亲水性 EO 链的二嵌段共聚物时，改性膜表现出低的水接触角，低至 20°，牛血清白蛋白的吸附量低至 1.1μg/cm。此外，植入的聚合物刷表现出优异的耐久性。两亲聚合物的疏水链段在聚合物刷在 PP 膜表面的植入和稳定性方面起主导作用。这项工作为在用于高效水处理的疏水膜中实现表面亲水性和抗污染性能提供了一种可行的策略。
