Evaluation on the UV-Shielding Performance of Self-polymerized Dopamine-blended Membrane

Abstract

Herein we reported the UV resistance evaluation of PVDF membrane which modified through a new blending combined polymerization method. The membrane was prepared by means of non-solvent induced phase separation process in which dopamine was blended altogether with polyvinylidene fluoride polymer in a dimethylacetamide solvent. The blended membrane was further modified by immersion into tris-HCl system to trigger the self-polymerization of dopamine into polydopamine. The UV stability performance was studied by exposing the membrane to the UV light for 5 days. The morphological change of the membrane was observed by using scanning electron microscopy analysis. The results revealed that, with only blending the dopamine into the membrane system, the membrane was severely damaged after UV exposure. However, by simply immersing the blended membrane into buffer Tris-HCl solution, the membrane showed minimal morphological damage after similar UV exposure treatment. This membrane can be a promising choice for the photocatalytic membrane reactor application.