Development of a novel antifouling polyethersulfone composite membrane with PHEMA-b-F127-b-PHEMA as an additive for oil-in-water emulsion separation

Pluronic F127-block-poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA-b-F127-b-PHEMA) was beforehand synthesized via the RAFT polymerization and used as an additive with polyethersulfone (PES) matrix to fabricate composite membranes by the phase inversion method. During the membrane formation process, the highly hydrophilic PHEMA blocks migrate spontaneously onto the membrane surfaces, which can be verified by the attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. As a result, the composite membrane surface porosity and hydrophilicity were enhanced compared with the unmodified PES membrane. More importantly, the water permeability and anti-fouling ability of composite membranes were improved significantly. Furthermore, the PHEMA blocks enriched on the as-made PES composite membrane surface, which acted as an anchor to immobilize the initiating site. Therefore, a lot of functional polymers were effectively grafted onto the PES composite membranes by surface-initiated radical polymerization.