Deposition and wetting characteristics of polyelectrolyte multilayers on plasma-modified porous polyethylene

Hydrophilic and chemically reactive porous media were prepared by adsorbing functional polymers at the surface of sintered polyethylene membranes. Modification of the membrane was accomplished by first exposing the membrane to an oxygen glow discharge gas plasma to introduce an electrostatic charge at the membrane surfaces. Cationic polyelectrolyte polyethylenimine (PEI) was adsorbed from solution to the anionic-charged surface to form an adsorbed monolayer. The adsorption of a second anionic polyelectrolyte onto the PEI layer allows further modification of the membrane surface to form a polyelectrolyte-bilayer complex. The conformation and stability of the adsorbed monolayers and bilayers comprising the modified surface are probed as a function of the polymer structure, charge density, and solubility. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, we demonstrate that the presence of the polyelectrolyte multilayers drastically increases the density and specificity of the functional groups at the surface, more than what can be achieved through the plasma modification alone. Also, using the wicking rate of deionized, distilled water through the porous membrane to gauge the interfacial energy of the modified surface, we show that the membrane wicking rate can be controlled by varying the chemistry of the adsorbing polyelectrolytes and, to a lesser extent, by adjusting the polarity or ionic strength of the polyelectrolyte solution.