The effects of surface functionality positioning on the transport properties of membranes

Hybrid membrane structures were produced through utilising gold sputtering and electroless deposition onto polycarbonate (PC) track etched membranes. Several hybrid membrane structures were created in which gold was deposited on different areas on the membrane; on one of the membrane interfaces, within the pores of the membrane and completely coating all surfaces of the membrane. The sputtering technique was used to coat gold only on one side of the PC membrane. Electroless deposition was used to prepare PC membranes coated entirely with gold and also to prepare membranes with gold deposition only within the pores of the membrane. Gold-thiol chemistry was exploited in which the thiols only assembled on the gold coated regions of the membrane thus providing controlled positioning of functional regions. The highly hydrophobic thiol, 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecanethiol, was used to form self assembled monolayers (SAMs) on the membranes. Transport of hydrophilic and hydrophobic dyes across the membranes were used to investigate the effects of the controlled positioning of SAMs. The selectivity of these three membrane structures were investigated based on whether the membrane is entirely functionalised, functionalised only within the pores or functionalised only on one face.