Preparation of poly (isophthalamide-graft-methacrylamide) and its utilization in the modification of cellulose acetate ultrafiltration membranes

Methacrylamide was grafted on to poly (isophthalamide) (PIPA-g-MAA) to improve its solubility and hydrophilicity. Then, PIPA-g-MAA incorporated high performance cellulose acetate ultrafiltration (CA) membranes were prepared by phase inversion technique and physical properties of the membranes were studied by various analytical methods. The efficiency of these membranes in the removal of arsenic from aqueous stream was studied and an effort has been taken to correlate the separation efficiency with morphology. Overall results suggest that membrane hydrophilicity, structure and performance were improved significantly by the addition of PIPA-g-MAA. Thus PIPA-g-MAA can be considered as an effective modification agent for CA membranes.