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Updated: Dec 2, 2025
Synthesis of Hydrogels with Antifouling Properties As Membranes for Water Purification
Published on: April 7, 2017
Antifouling Membranes Prepared from Polyethersulfone Grafted with Poly(ethylene glycol) Methacrylate by
Dan Lou1,2, Zhengchi Hou2,3, Haijun Yang2,3
1Department of Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University (SHU), Shanghai 200444, China.
Abstract:
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.
