Influence of macromolecular additives on mechanical properties of polyether sulfone and polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes

The influence of macromolecular additives on the mechanical properties of polyethersulfone (PES) and polysulfone (PS) is investigated. Ultrafiltration membrane sheets are prepared from PES and PSF based polymers via liquid non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS), and employing polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), polyethylene glycol (PEG) and Pluronic®(PLU) co-polymers as macromolecular additives. The impact of additives on the main membranes’ characteristics are studied; i.e., pure water permeability, membrane porosity, morphology and surface chemistry. The main mechanical properties are examined for all membranes and are correlated to the chemical composition of the membranes. Overall, the membranes prepared using PLU showed a superior tensile strength compared to other membrane samples, while PVP was found to enhance the membrane formation by suppressing microvoids formation. This study provides a better understanding of the main mechanical and other characteristics of membrane materials with regards to using additives.