Polymeric Membranes: Surface Modification by "Grafting to" Method and Fabrication of Multilayered Assemblies

Surface modification of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) membranes was carried out by grafting various polymers using the "grafting to" technique. To increase the initial surface reactivity of the membranes, air plasma treatment was applied for a short time. The reactive anchoring interface was created by deposition of several nanometers of poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) onto the membrane boundary. Next, polymers containing reactive (amino and carboxy) groups were grafted to the macromolecular PGMA anchoring layer. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a gas permeation test demonstrated that the polymers could be chemically attached to the PET membranes modified with PGMA. Grafted polymers uniformly covered the surface and did not block pores. We also demonstrated that the PET membranes modified with the PGMA anchoring layer can be successfully used to build membrane assemblies by incorporating silica or titanium oxide microparticles as spacers.