Polyethersulfone (PESU) is a widely used commercial thermoplastic that is known for its toughness and stability at high temperatures. PESU allows easy manufacturing of membranes with reproducible properties, low protein retention, and durability in extreme environments. Such membranes can be used in applications like hemodialysis, waste water recovery, and gas separation. The current limitations in membrane research are control of surface properties such as pore size, surface roughness, and anti-fouling capabilities. These issues are typically addressed through surface treatments and chemical modifications to the polymer chains. Such treatments can be costly and harmful to the environment surrounding the membrane; therefore, it is the goal of this research to develop a fundamental understanding of the surface behavior of the unmodified PESU systems. Flexible polymer systems have exhibited segmental density distribution near their surfaces due to chain-end localization to the polymer-air interface, however this behavior is not well understood for rigid-rod systems. This research provides a study of the surface and interfacial chain-end behavior in PESU solution cast films. Commercial PESU was fractionated and characterized using static and dynamic light scattering, gel permeation chromatography, and differential scanning calorimetry. Chain-ends were characterized via GATR-FTIR, fluorescence labeling, static and dynamic contact angle, and atomic force microscopy. Experimental results were correlated with molecular dynamics simulations to develop a model of chain-end localization in rigid rod systems.

Surface and interfacial chain-end behavior in polyethersulfone solution cast films

247th National Meeting (2014)

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