3-Sulfopropyl methacrylate postassium salt was grafted to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in a simple one step atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) process to prepare amphiphilic poly(vinyl chloride)-g-poly(3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium salt) (PVC-g-PSMPA) graft copolymer. The synthesized PVC-g-PSMPA graft copolymer was characterized by FTIR and 1H-NMR. The microphase-separated structure was represented by two separated domains and two glass transition temperatures (Tg) as characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) respectively. The morphology was further confirmed by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) which showed that the interdomain distance is around 11.6 nm which is consistent with the TEM result. The graft copolymer was blended with pristine PVC and solution casted to prepare organized PVC/PVC-g-PSMPA blended membranes which was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The water flux of the blended membrane was approximately 2.20 L/m2 h (LMH) at 14.7 bar, which was much higher than the pristine PVC membrane. This is due to the water channels that formed due to the presence of hydrophilic ionic groups, which allow for the flow of water while resisting the passage of salt.

Synthesis of graft copolymer for applications in pressure retarded osmosis (PRO)

248th National Meeting (2014)

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