PtBS-b-P4VP and PTMSS-b-P4VP Isoporous Integral-Asymmetric Membranes with High Thermal and Chemical Stability

Isoporous integral‐asymmetric membranes of tailor‐made poly(tert‐butylstyrene)‐ and poly(4‐trimethylsilylstyrene)‐block‐poly(4‐vinylpyridine) diblock copolymers are reported here for the first time. The membrane development involved the optimization of the production process—which is a combination of block copolymer self‐assembly and the non‐solvent induced phase inversion process. The membranes showed an improved thermal and chemical stability compared to previously reported polystyrene‐block‐poly(4‐vinylpyridine) membranes, thus the number of potential application areas for such type of isoporous membranes is increased. Tailor‐made poly(4‐tert‐butylstyrene) and poly(4‐trimethylsiliylstyrene)‐block‐poly(4‐vinylpyridine) are used to prepare isoporous integral‐asymmetric membranes. Efficient membrane production is achieved through the combination of the self‐assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers and the non‐solvent induced phase inversion. Membranes feature high stability to thermal and chemical stresses.