Abstract
AbstractPoly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is a worldwide established polymer that has raised the interest of researchers for the fabrication of membranes. Polymer membranes are mostly prepared by the phase inversion technique, but the literature is scarce regarding the use of PET for this purpose. The main objective of this work is to prepare PET membranes by the phase inversion technique and characterize the phase separation phenomena and the performance of membranes produced under different solution conditions. The cloud point tests showed that the addition of dichloromethane (DCM) in PET solutions with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) turned the system more unstable because less water was necessary to promote phase separation. The poor solvent DCM neither affects the chemical structure of membranes nor the surface wettability. SEM images revealed a porous and sponge‐like structure with a thin top layer and the poor solvent seems to suppress the tear‐like macrovoid formation. Filtration experiments indicated higher pure water flux for membranes prepared with DCM in the solution but lower selectivity for model solutes.
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