Preparation of porous polyamide 6(PA6)membrane with copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles selectively localized at the wall of the pores via reactive extrusion

In this study, CuO nanoparticles are pre-modified with styrene-maleic anhydride copolymers (SMAs) of different molecular weights and MAH contents. Then the pre-modified CuO nanoparticles (CuO-SMAs) are added to the PA6/SEBS (Styrene Ethylene Butylene Styrene copolymer) (40/60 ​wt/wt) polymer blends with a co-continuous morphology. When SMA3 (MAH ​= ​8 ​wt%, Mn ​= ​250000 ​g/mol) is used to modify CuO nanoparticles, and the grafting degree of SMA3 on the surface of CuO reaches 2.74 ​wt%, 90.71% of the added mCuO-SMA3 nanoparticles can be located at the interface of PA6 and SEBS. A porous PA6 membrane with CuO nanoparticles located at the pore walls can be obtained after the SEBS phase is etched with xylene. The catalytic reaction velocity constant (k) for the reduction of p-nitrophenol in NaBH4 solutions with the PA6/mCuO-SMA3 porous membrane can reach 1.0040 min-1. This work provides a feasible and straightforward method for the preparation of porous polymer membranes with functional nanoparticles located at the wall of the pores.