Improvement of performances of PET track membranes by plasma treatment

Oxygen plasma grafting (I), allylamine and acrylic acid plasma grafting (II) and plasma polymerization (III) on poly(ethylene terephthalate) porous membranes led to water contact angle and surface energy in the range of 10–35° and 35–45 mN m−1 respectively. Treatment III gave a nonconsistent deposited layer that blocked the pores (0.2 μm). Treatments I and II increased the water flow without affecting the rejection percentage of different molecular weight dextranes. Pore size, flow, adsorption of Rhodamine B were determined for the treated membranes. Best results were obtained using oxygen plasma pretreatment followed by 3 min of a vapour acrylic acid flow.