Solvent‐stable UV‐cured acrylic polysulfone membranes

A systematic investigation of the effect of the presence of acrylate resin on polysulfone‐based membranes was performed with the aim of obtaining chemically stable crosslinked membranes without affecting their flux performances. The membranes were prepared via UV curing of the polymer dope followed by a non‐solvent‐induced phase separation process. Two different acrylic monomers were investigated and their amount was varied in the polymer dope, to study the influence of concentration on final results. High crosslinking degrees were achieved by irradiating the solution for one minute. Morphological investigations of the active surface and of the cross‐sections of the fabricated membranes showed that the typical porosity of ultrafiltration membranes was obtained starting from solutions containing a low amount of crosslinker (10 wt%), which is consistent with the water flux values which were comparable to that of the pristine polysulfone membrane. High concentrations of crosslinker resin in the initial polymer dope produced denser membranes with lower permeability. High rejection of 27 nm particles (>90%) was measured for all samples having measurable flux. The addition of the crosslinker allowed one to obtain stability in various solvents without affecting the flux and rejection performance of the porous membranes. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry