Modification of polysulfone membranes via surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization and their antifouling properties

Abstract

Surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was used to tailor the functionality of polysulfone (PSF) membranes. A simple one-step method for the chloromethylation of PSF under mild conditions was used to introduce surface benzyl chloride groups as active ATRP initiators. Covalently tethered hydrophilic polymer brushes of poly(ethylene glycol)monomethacrylate and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and their block copolymer brushes were prepared via surface-initiated ATRP from the chloromethylated PSF surfaces. A kinetic study revealed that the chain growth from the membranes was consistent with a controlled process. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to characterize the surface-modified membrane after each modification stage. Protein adsorption experiments revealed substantial antifouling properties of the grafted PSF membranes in comparison with the those of the pristine PSF surface.

Grafting of zwitterion from polysulfone membrane via surface-initiated ATRP with enhanced antifouling property and biocompatibility

“…In our previous study [14], SI-ATRP was used to prepare hydrophilic polyethersulfone membrane with enhanced blood compatibility, in which the grafting yield of poly (N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) was well-controlled. Wu et al [6] used the -CH 2 Cl groups on chloromethylated polysulfone (PSf-Cl) membrane surface as SI-ATRP initiator to introduce hydrophilic polymer brush of poly(ethylene glycol) monomethacrylate and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and their block copolymer brush to improve the antifouling property of the PSf membrane. Mayes and coworkers [8] prepared polysulfone-graft-poly(ethylene glycol) (PSf-g-PEG) copolymers through nucleophilic substitution on -CH 2 Cl.…”

“…To improve the biocompatibility of PSf membrane, many methods including blending method [3][4][5], "grafting from" method [6,7], and "grafting onto" method [8,9] have been employed for introducing hydrophilic groups or charged groups onto the membrane surface. When using blending method, hydrophilic polymer may be eluted from the membrane.…”

“…In recent years, SI-ATRP has been widely used to prepare special surface material, since it is a "living" polymerization method that has been utilized for grafting polymers onto surfaces in a controlled manner, including graft density, chain length, and chemical composition [6,[11][12][13]. In our previous study [14], SI-ATRP was used to prepare hydrophilic polyethersulfone membrane with enhanced blood compatibility, in which the grafting yield of poly (N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) was well-controlled.…”

Electrical conductivity and optical properties of a new quaternized polysulfone

“…Therefore, polymers with chloromethyl pendant groups are often used as starting materials for obtaining new functional polymers [20] with hydrophilic groups (e.g., hydroxyl, amine, carboxyl, and sulfone) grafted onto the backbone chain polymer. Synthesis of phosphonium salts bonded to macromolecular supports has been discussed in detail, due to their numerous applications as phase-transfer catalysts, polymeric reagents for Witting reactions, polycationic biocides [21,22].…”

The effect of polymer concentration on flux stability of polysulfone membrane

“…As a result, macrovoid formations in the membrane structure can be eluded. Most of commercial UF membrane is prepared from hydrophobic polymer, such as polysulfone, which is susceptible to organic matter fouling due to its natural hydrophobic property [14,15].Therefore, most of membrane modification methods are focused in improving membrane hydrophilicity [16][17][18][19]. Blending with hydrophilic polymers has been widely used to accomplish this task as it is also the simplest method [20,21].…”