Ultrafiltration Membranes Coated by Amphiphilic Copolymers Containing Superhydrophilic Zwitterionic and Hydrophobic POSS Moieties Showing Improved Fouling Resistance/Release Properties

초록

Ultrafiltration membranes coated with amphiphilic copolymers containing superhydrophilic zwitterionic moieties and hydrophobic POSS moieties (PSM-coated membranes) are prepared. The free radical polymerization of 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and 3-(3,5,7,9,11,13,15-heptaisobutylpentacyclo[9.5.1.1(3,9).1(5,15).1(7,13)]octasiloxane-1-yl)propyl methacrylate (MAPOSS) monomers is used to prepare a series of copolymers containing different compositions of DMAEMA and MAPOSS units (PDMs). The DMAEMA units in the PDM-coated membranes are subsequently converted to sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) units using 1,3-propane sultone (post-zwitterionization) to give the PSM-coated membranes. The PSM-coated membranes show improved fouling resistance/release properties, compared with a neat polysulfone (PSf) membrane. The improved fouling resistance properties of the PSM-coated membranes are attributed to the superhydrophilic zwitterionic moieties, which form a hydration layer on the membrane surface via electrostatic interactions between the zwitterions and water molecules. Moreover, the total surface energy (gamma(S)) value of the PSM-coated membrane is smaller than that of the PSf membrane due to the hydrophobic POSS moieties. This results in the superior fouling release properties of the PSM-coated membranes.

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