High flux membranes, based on self-assembled and H-bond linked triblock copolymer nanospheres

Burhannudin Sutisna, Valentina-Elena Musteata, Bruno Pulido, Tiara Puspasari, Detlef-M. Smilgies, Nikos Hadjichristidis, Suzana Pereira Nunes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

We developed composite membranes by stacking functionalized nanospheres (20 nm size) with a high density of H-bonds. The functionalized nanospheres were formed by a click-reaction in toluene between the polybutadiene segment of poly(styrene-b-butadiene-b-styrene) (PS-b-PB-b-PS) triblock copolymer and an azodicarbonyl (PTAD) compound. The strong hydrogen-bond interaction promoted by the pendant urazole groups of the PTAD-modified copolymer is an important parameter for obtaining stable and defect-free membranes, acting in analogy to self-healing systems. The hydrodynamic transport is facilitated by the high porosity of the membranes and the unique hourglass-shaped pores. The composite membrane has water permeation as high as 60 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 and can exclude more than 95% of proteins with a molecular weight as small as 12 kg mol−1. This novel class of nanoparticle-stacked membranes has therefore excellent separation properties for biomolecular separation.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)10-18
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Membrane Science
Volume585
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 27 2019

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