Porous, polyelectrolyte-filled membranes: Effect of cross-linking on flux and separation

A new type of membrane composed of a microfiltration substrate and a pore-filling polyelectrolyte has been produced by UV-induced grafting of 4-vinylpyridine (4VP) with varying amounts of divinylbenzene (DVB) onto polypropylene microfiltration membranes. Using the same irradiation conditions, it has been found that graft yield increases substantially in the presence of DVB. The increase in graft yield was shown to be accompanied by a substantial increase in the thickness of the grafted membranes and a small but significant decrease in water content. The composite membranes have very high charge densities and good mechanical properties, The membranes with various amounts of DVB were quaternized (methylated) and examined for reverse osmosis of various salts. In addition to an expected drop in flux due to the increased thickness and decreased water content, there was significantly different salt rejection for membranes with cross-linking. While, for example, there is practically no difference in rejection of NaCl by a membrane with 0.55% DVB and one having no cross linker, the Na2SO4 rejection by the cross-linked membrane is, on average, twice as high as that by the non-cross-linked one. Large differences between the cross-linked and non-cross-linked membranes were found in the ratios of pure water to NaCl permeate fluxes of the membranes at various pressures. The results are discussed in terms of the physicochemical nature of the membranes and conformational changes of the pore-grafted poly(4-vinylpyridine).