A Superhydrophilic and Anti-Biofouling Polyphenylene Sulfide Microporous Membrane with Quaternary Ammonium Salts

Abstract

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) membranes were modified by chloromethylation and quaternary amination reaction to prepare a hydrophilic PPS microporous membrane. The structures of the modified PPS membranes were characterized by the use of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the modified membranes maintain the same microporous structures as the PPS membrane. The hydrophilicity of the modified membranes was significantly improved compared to that of the PPS membranes, and the water flux of N-methylimidazole modified membranes, triethylamine modified membranes, and both mixture modified membranes achieved 110.475, 168.94, 150.59 L·m−2·h−1, respectively. The quaternary amination of the PPS membranes made much less bovine serum albumin (BSA) pollution accumulation on the top surface of the modified membranes, and there was a significant improvement, to 94%, in the BSA rejection rate. Most importantly, the antibacterial activity of the modified membranes was effectively improved, and the bactericidal rate was elevated to above 80% in comparison with pure PPS membranes, which was attributed to the introduction of quaternary ammonium salts and imidazolium salts in out-surface of the membranes.