Preparation of a hydrophilic PVDF membranes by electron beam induced grafting polymerization of acrylic acid

In order to improve the water flux of PVDF hollow-fiber membrane, acrylic acid (AA) was grafted onto PVDF membrane matrix through electron beam irradiation in isopropanol/water aqueous solution. The grafting conditions were optimized and the effects of grafting parameters were investigated. Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) was used to characterize the chemical changes of the PVDF matrix. The morphological behaviors have been estimated using field emitting scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The present study suggested that the grafting degree played a dominant role in the water flux of AA grafted PVDF membrane (PVDF-g-AA). The pure water flux of grafted membrane increased to 467.8 L/m(2)h, nearly two times than the original membrane.