Preparation of alkali-resistant PVDF membranes via immobilization of sodium lauryl sulfate (SDS) on surface

Abstract A novel strategy was proposed to fabricate alkali-resistant PVDF membrane via sodium lauryl sulfate (SDS) attached to the surface of membrane and immobilized by UV-curable polyester acrylate and tri(propylene glycol) diacrylate (TPGDA). The attached anionic surfactant, SDS, on the membrane surface can resist the alkali corrosion by NaOH, and the curing of the resin can immobilize the SDS on the membrane firmly. Due to the unique alkali resistance of SDS and resin formed, the UV-curable resin-modified PVDF membrane showed greatly enhanced alkali-resistant ability. Characterization of SEM and FTIR showed that polyester acrylate and TPGDA were cured successfully under the action of 1-hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone (184) and ultraviolet light. Whiteness, differential scanning calorimeter and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer characterization showed that the modified PVDF membrane had a lower degree of dehydrofluorination than the pristine PVDF membrane after alkali treatment. Results of the detailed alkali-resistant analysis indicated that the F/C ratio of the UV-curable resin-modified PVDF membrane decreased by 2.6% after alkali treatment compared to pristine PVDF membrane decreased by 19.28%. The alkali-resistant performance was mainly attributed to the immobilized SDS. This study provided a facile and scalable method for designing alkali-resistant PVDF membrane, which shows a promising potential in the treatment of alkaline wastewater and alkaline-cleaning PVDF membrane.