Influence of UV grafting conditions and gel formation on the loading and stabilization of palladium nanoparticles in photografted polyethersulfone membrane for catalytic reactions

This paper reports innovative coupling for the development of catalytic membrane reactors. Photografting for the modification of membrane surfaces has been extensively studied and we used the results to optimize metal nanoparticle loading. Polyethersulfone hollow fibers were modified by poly(acrylic acid) grafting and the impact of a cross-linked network and a polymer gel grafted layer on metal loading was examined. Transmission electron microscopy images showed well dispersed metal nanoparticles close to the surface. The catalytic activity of the different hollow fibers was assessed by the reduction of p-nitrophenol into p-aminophenol and a conversion yield of close to 100% was found. We demonstrated the possibility of obtaining various reactors by varying the residence time through alteration of the grafted layer.