Preparation and performance testing of sulfonated poly(phenylene oxide) based composite membranes for nanofiltration

摘要

Sulfonated brominated poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (SPPOBr) was synthesized by a sequence of bromination and sulfonation. A thin film of SPPOBr was coated on top of a commercial poly(ether sulfone) membrane. Pure butoxyethanol (BE) solvent or a BE/isopropyl alcohol (IPA) solvent mixture was used to dissolve SPPOBr in the coating process. The thin film composite membranes so prepared were then tested for the separation of carbohydrate and electrolyte solutes. We found that the flux and the carbohydrate separation both increased significantly with increasing IPA content in the solvent mixture. However, the separation of electrolyte solutes did not change significantly. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. References: 19