Cross linking treatment of polymer membranes

Abstract

Methods of forming a hydrophilic porous polymeric membrane which include preparing a porous polymeric membrane from a polymer blend which typically contains a hydrophobic non crosslinkable component (e.g. PVdF) and a component which is cross-linkable (for instance, PVP) and treating said porous polymeric membrane under cross linking conditions to produce a modified membrane with greatly improved water permeability and hydrophilic stability. Cross linking condition include chemical (e.g. peroxodisulfate species), thermal or radiation and / or combinations thereof. Non cross linked material may be washed out if desired.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to methods of preparing polymeric materials having enhanced performance in ultrafiltration and microfiltration applications, and to polymeric materials prepared by these methods. In particular, the present invention relates to a cross-linking method for treating hydrophobic / hydrophilic membranes to greatly improve water permeability and hydrophilic stability. The present invention also relates to hydrophobic / hydrophilic blend polymer membranes prepared by these methods. Background technique [0002] The following discussion should not be construed as an admission that it is known art. [0003] Synthetic polymer membranes are used in a variety of applications including desalination, gas separation, filtration and dialysis. The performance of the membrane depends on: factors such as membrane morphology including properties such as symmetry, pore shape, and pore size; the chemistry of the polymeric material used to form the...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Disadvantages often include low yields, poor reproducibility, and difficulty in scaling up for commercial production

Also, chemically modified PVdF membranes usually lose their mechanical strength and chemical stability