Photo-grafting of β-cyclodextrin onto the polyethersulfone microfiltration-membrane: Fast surface hydrophilicity improvement and continuous phthalate ester removal

This work presents a facile, fast, and green approach for the production of a novel glycidyl methacrylate-beta-cyclodextrin grafted polyethersulfone membrane (GMA-beta-CD-PESm). Firstly, glycidyl methacrylate-bonded beta-cyclodextrin (GMA-beta-CD) is synthesized and then it is photografted onto the polyethersulfone (PES) membrane. The effects of ultraviolet radiation time, GMA-beta-CD concentration, modification techniques, and degrees of substitution are studied. The results indicated that, with altering of studied parameters, membranes with degree of grafting 50-3000 mu g/cm(2) are obtained. The prepared membranes are characterized by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, SEM, and contact angle (CA) measurements. The CA measurements confirmed that hydrophilicity of the membrane significantly increased by grafting of GMA-beta-CD onto the PES membrane. The CA angle is decreased from 64 degrees in the neat PES to 39.4 degrees in GMA-beta-CD-PESm. The results of microfiltration show that GMA-beta-CD-PESm have a good potential to continuous adsorbing and removing of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate from aqueous solutions. (c) 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47632.