Ionic Liquids As Self-Assembly Guide for the Formation of Nanostructured Block Copolymer Membranes

Poornima Madhavan, Rachid Sougrat, Ali Reza Behzad, Klaus-Viktor Peinemann, Suzana Pereira Nunes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nanostructured block copolymer membranes were manufactured by water induced phase inversion, using ionic liquids (ILs) as cosolvents. The effect of ionic liquids on the morphology was investigated, by using polystyrene-b-poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (PS-b-PV4P) diblock as membrane copolymer matrix and imidazolium and pyridinium based ILs. The effect of IL concentration and chemical composition was evident with particular interaction with P4VP blocks. The order of block copolymer/ILs solutions previous to the membrane casting was confirmed by cryo scanning electron microscopy and the morphologies of the manufactured nanostructured membranes were characterized by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Non-protic ionic liquids facilitate the formation of hexagonal nanoporous block copolymer structure, while protic ILs led to a lamella-structured membrane. The rheology of the IL/block copolymer solutions was investigated, evaluating the storage and loss moduli. Most membranes prepared with ionic liquid had higher water flux than pure block copolymer membranes without additives.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)568-577
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Membrane Science
Volume492
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2 2015

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Filtration and Separation
  • General Materials Science
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry

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