PNIPAAm and PMAA co-grafted porous PE membranes: living radical co-grafting mechanism and multi-stimuli responsive permeability

PNIPAAm and PMAA co-grafted porous PE membranes were prepared by a living radical, sequential photografting method, and shown to have a di-block covalent structure. In addition, DSC results suggest that complexes between the two blocks are formed under certain conditions. The effect of total co-graft yield and co-graft composition on the temperature- and pH responsive membrane permeability was examined. The results were explained using a two layer model, and by considering the effect of a graft conformation on the permeability of the individual layers. Finally, by imposing various combinations of temperature and pH, it was shown that the co-grafted membranes could be reversibly manipulated to exhibit more sophisticated permeability response than the singly grafted porous membranes.