pH Sensitive polypropylene porous membrane prepared by grafting acrylic acid in supercritical carbon dioxide

pH sensitive membrane was prepared by grafting acrylic acid (AA) on the porous polypropylene (PP) membrane using supercritical (SC) CO2 as a solvent. The monomer (AA) and the initiator (benzyl peroxide, BPO) were impregnated into the PP substrate with the aid of SC CO2, and were grafted onto the microporous PP substrate. The grafted membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and the water permeability of the virgin and grafted membranes were determined at different pH values. It was demonstrated that the grafting degree (Dg) could be easily controlled by varying operating conditions, such as the monomer concentration, pressure, and temperature during the soaking process. The water permeation of the virgin membrane is nearly independent of pH. However, the water permeation of grafted membranes decreases dramatically with pH as the pH varies from 3 to 6 because the conformation of the PAA changes significantly with the pH of the contacting solution.