The influence of sulfonated polyethersulfone (SPES) on surface nano-morphology and performance of polyethersulfone (PES) membrane

In this research, firstly sulfonation of polyethersulfone (PES) was carried out and then polyethersulfone (PES)/sulfonated polyethersulfone (SPES) blend membranes were prepared with phase inversion induced by immersion precipitation technique. polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP, 2 wt% concentration) was added in the casting solution as pore former. SPES was characterized by FT-IR and UV–visible spectra, ion exchange capacity and swelling ratio. The characterization of SPES polymer indicates that the sulfonic acid groups were produced on PES polymer. Also, the prepared PES/SPES blend membranes were characterized by contact angle, AFM, SEM and cross-flow filtration for milk concentration. The contact angle measurements indicate that the hydrophilicity of PES membrane is enhanced by increasing the SPES content in the casting solution. The SEM and AFM images show that the addition of SPES in the casting solution results in a membrane with larger surface pore size and higher sub-layer porosity. The mean pore size of the membrane increased from 98 nm for PES membrane to 240 and 910 nm for 50/50 and 0/100 PES/SPES blend membranes, respectively. The pure water flux and milk water permeation through the prepared membranes are increased by blending PES with SPES. Moreover, the protein rejection of PES/SPES blend membranes was lower than PES membrane.