Synthesis and Characterization of Polysulfone Hydrogels

Abstract

Polysulfone (PSF) membranes are frequently\rused in ultrafiltration, due totheirchemical and structural stability and mechanical robustness. Despite these\radvantages, successful utilization of this membrane technology has been greatly\rlimited by the susceptibility of these membranes to fouling, due totheirhydrophobic nature. Here we report on the\rsynthesis and characterisation of hydrophilic PSF membrane materials prepared\rby incorporation of polyvinyl alcohol, through chemical crosslinking to produce\rmechanically and chemically stable PSF hydrogels. The hydrogel composition was\rcontrolled at three different ratios to evaluate the effect of the PSF\rcontributioni.e.25:75, 50:50 and\r75:25. PSF hydrogels were characterized using high resolution scanningelectronmicroscopy (HR-SEM), cyclicvoltammetry (CV), and drop shape analysis\rtechniques. The polysulfone hydrogels formed showed a decrease in contact angle\rby 50% for all hydrogels regardless of their polysulfone contribution,\rconfirming an improvement in hydrophilic nature. The electron diffusion and\rionic transport properties of thehydrogels\ras immobilised thin films in aqueous solutions,wereevaluated using cyclic voltammetry.