Sulfonated polyethersulfone by heterogeneous method and its membrane performances

Polyethersulfone was sulfonated by heterogeneous method with chlorosulfonic acid. Ion exchange capacity was controlled to 0.68 meq/g to reduce fouling. Sulfonation was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance. Polyethersulfone and sulfonated polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membranes were prepared successively by the typical phase inversion method. Membrane performance of sulfonated polyethersulfone was compared with that of polyethersulfone. In the preparation of ultrafiltration membranes, the effect of the addition of dichloromethane and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) in a casting solution was investigated on the membrane performance. It was observed that the addition of dichloromethane increased the solute rejection rate. By changing the ratio between polymer and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone), membrane performance could be controlled. Negatively charged sulfonated polyethersulfone could reduce fouling at higher or lower pH than isoelectric point of protein bovine serum albumin. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 2046–2055, 1999