Simultaneous permeability, selectivity and antibacterial property improvement of PVC ultrafiltration membranes via in-situ quaternization

• DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2017.11.008
• Publication Date: 2017-11-04T21:15:23Z
• Authors: Chunrui Wu; Zhongyang Wang; Sihua Liu; Zongli Xie; Huayan Chen; Xiaolong Lu
• Keywords: Ultrafiltration (renal); Thermogravimetric analysis; Zeta potential; Ammonium chloride

Abstract In this study, a simple approach to prepare quaternizated poly(vinyl chloride) (QPVC) ultrafiltration (UF) membrane was developed through soaking commercial PVC hollow fiber UF membrane in trimethylamine (TMA) solution. Infrared spectrum, 1H nuclear magnetic spectrum and Thermogravimetric analysis showed that quaternary ammonium group was successfully grafted on the PVC membrane, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and zeta potential testing results pointed out that the amount of grafted quaternary ammonium group varied with reaction conditions. By the modification, the membranes changed gradually from negatively charged to positively charged, the hydrophilicity of PVC membrane was enhanced and the membrane pore shrinked, which resulted in the improvement of permeability and rejection simultaneously. Moreover, antibacterial research testified the PVC membrane was endowed antibacterial properties after modified of quaternization.