Reactable substrate participating interfacial polymerization for thin film composite membranes with enhanced salt rejection performance.

In this study, we investigate the use of reactable substrates for interfacial polymerization of polyamide membranes. Two reactable group (hydroxyl group) contained substrates were prepared. Using m -phenylenediamine (MPD) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) as monomers, thin film composite (TFC) membrane formed thereon displayed varying film morphology, chemical composition and separation performance. The substrate participating TFC membrane showed a thicker rejection layer with greater crosslinking density. The latter was caused by the formation of ester bonds in addition to amide bonds. This polyamide/polyester composite rejection layer had greatly enhanced NaCl and Na 2 SO 4 rejection compared to the control membrane prepared on inert substrate. We further proposed a conceptual model that highlighted the important role of amphiphilic copolymers as (1) MPD enrichment loaders, (2) reactive monomers and (3) surfactants in the interfacial polymerization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]