Preparation and Characterization of PP-g-Poloxamer Membranes by UV Irradiation Methods and their Solutes Permeation Behaviors

1. Introduction : Polypropylene(PP) membrane is widely used in the field of microfiltration and ultrafiltration. However, the hydrophobicity of PP causes the adsorption of hydrophobic and amphoteric solutes in the feed. Surface modification techniques of membrane through the treatment of hydrophilizing agents, coating of hydrophilic compounds, UV, plasma and high energy irradiation, etc. can have a great effect on propensities to prevent the protein from staining membranes. Among them, the modification to hydophilize membrane surface using UV is very simple and effective. Recently many studies for more effective surface modification have been conducted. Iwata et al. prepared membranes by grafting polyethylene glycol diacrylate macromer(PEGDA) onto polysulfone with plasma using a glow discharge reactor which prevent the oil from staining the membrane. The primary mechanism contributing to the membranes is preventing the oil from directly contacting the surface of the membrane as the PEGDA chains dissolved into emulsion. To evaluate their feasibility for use as a anti-fouling separation membrane, we prepared hydrophilic membranes by UV irradiation method and investigated their characteristics.