Preparation and modification of nano-porous polyimide (PI) membranes by UV photo-grafting process: Ultrafiltration and nanofiltration performance

Polyimide (PI) membranes were prepared via non-solvent induced phase separation. The prepared PI membranes were modified by ultraviolet light (UV) and graft polymerization of hydrophilic acrylic and amino monomers in the absence and presence of benzophenone (BP) onto the membrane surface to introduce more hydrophilic and lower fouling membranes. Acrylic acid (AA) and 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) as acrylic monomers, 1,3-phenylenediamine (mPDA) as amino monomer and BP as photo-initiator were used. The unmodified and modified PI membranes were characterized by degree of grafting (DG) and contact angle measurements. They were also characterized by their ultrafiltration performance with pure water and non-skim milk and nanofiltration performance with 500 ppm NaCl and MOO, single solutions. The DG was increased with increasing monomer concentration, especially at presence of BP. The contact angle measurements indicated that hydrophilicity of PI membrane was improved after UV photo-grafting of hydrophilic monomers onto the membrane surface in all cases. The ultrafiltration results showed that the pure water fluxes and milk water permeation of PI membrane declined after monomer photo-grafting while the protein rejection was extremely increased. The decrease in permeability was remarkable in the presence of BP. The mean pore size of base and modified PI membranes ranged from 8.3 to 0.55 nm when calculated from the solute transport data. Moreover, the irreversible flux loss and flux recovery of PI membrane were modified by UV photo-grafting of hydrophilic monomers. All modified membranes showed considerable NaCl and MgSO4 rejections. In addition, the membrane modified with mPDA at presence of BP showed highest NaCl and MgSO4 rejections.