Development of membranes by radiation-induced graft polymerization of monomers onto polyethylene films

Membranes have become a fascinating domain of present day separation science technology and environmental care because of their inter disciplinary nature and a wide range of application areas. Membranes play a vital role in a number of domains involving the industrial sector, human health care, and the management of the environment. The application of membrane as solid polymer electrolyte in fuel cells is another technological requirement of a highly proton conducting matrix with oxidative stability. The graft polymerization offers an attractive way to introduce specific properties in polymers. The beauty of radiation grafting is that this method may be used to modify virtually any polymer in any form, such as films and fibers, by careful selection of the monomer. A wide range of monomers are available for grafting reaction. However, the monomers need to be functionalized in a subsequent step to introduce functional groups.