Modification of polysulfone membranes 5. Effect of n-butylamine and allylamine plasma

This paper describes some properties of microwave plasma polymers of n-butylamine and allylamine deposited on the surface of polysulfone substrate. Contact angle evaluation, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis and estimation of pore size distribution of ultrafiltration polysulfone membranes were used. It was found that addition of Ar to the amine vapor significantly stabilized the plasma and converted it to the ablation mode. The surface became more hydrophilic and the surface groups were enriched in oxygen. Both amines gave deposits of various compositions: the n-butylamine polymer was not as enriched in amines as the polymer formed from allylamine. However, the amounts of nitrogen in both deposits indicated allylamine to be the precursor for the preparation of membranes with weakly basic functionalities. When porous membranes are modified, the ultrafilters obtained may be named `fouling protectedʹ as they do not foul so intensively with proteins as their unmodified analogues. To a lesser extent, similar behavior was shown by membranes modified by deposition of plasma-polymerized n-butylamine.