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Altun, Veysi
Dec 6-2016 at 13 :30
KU Leuven, Onderwijs & Navorsing, O&N II Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
SOLVENT STABLE UV AND EB CROSS-LINKED POLYSULFONE-BASED MEMBRANES
Résumé
The importance of membrane technology as a separation technique has increased rapidly over the past
decades thanks to its broad range of applications. The expanding market brings along the requirement
of advanced polymeric materials, which show resistance towards swelling and plasticization in gas
separation (GS) and towards harsh solvents and extreme pH conditions in solvent resistant
nanofiltration (SRNF). At this stage, cross-linking has emerged as a promising technology to overcome
these issues. Chemical cross-linking is one of the most commonly used techniques and is based on a
chemical reaction between a polymer (e.g. polyimide) and a cross-linker (e.g. diamine or diol). However,
for polymers which do not contain chemically reactive groups in their backbone, such as polysulfones
(PSU), this technique is not feasible. Additionally, chemical cross-linking involves several processing
steps and causes harmful waste streams, triggering the quest for a generally applicable, fast and green
curing technique.
Two new curing techniques, namely ultraviolet (UV) and electron beam (EB) curing, were explored in
this thesis, in order to obtain chemically and thermally stable membranes, hence being attractive for
SRNF applications. Asymmetric membranes, composed of a semi-interpenetrating polymer network
(SIPN), were prepared via non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS). PSU was chosen as polymer
because of its robust thermal and mechanical properties, photosensitivity and lack of reactive groups.
Cross-linked membranes with SIPN structure were obtained via UV and EB-curing.
The influence of cross-linker functionality, radiation dose and polymer/cross-linker ratio on the EB-curing
efficiency was investigated. The best type of cross-linker and its optimum concentration under optimum
EB-dose were determined. To optimize the separation performance of EB and UV-cured PSU
membranes, the effect of phase inversion parameters, including polymer concentration, evaporation
time prior to immersion and co-solvent/solvent ratio, was explored.
Solvent stable asymmetric PSU membranes were thus developed by two simple, environmentally
friendly and highly effective methods. The performance and enhanced chemical resistance of the cured
membranes show high potential for implementing both cross-linking procedures in adequate industrial
applications after further optimization.
Mots-Clés: SRNF, PSU membranes, phase inversion, EB cross-linking, UV cross-linking
Etablissement d’inscription : KU Leuven (Belgium)
Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier (France)
University of Twente (the Netherlands)
Composition du Jury:
1. Vankelecom, Ivo, Prof. Dr. (co-directrice de thèse)
2. Remigy, Jean-Christophe, Dr. (co-directrice de thèse)
3. Benes, Nieck, Prof. Dr. (co-directeur de thèse)
4. Aimar, Pierre, Dr.
5. Koeckelberghs, Guy, Prof. Dr.
6. Kemperman, Antione, Dr.
7. Rabiller-Baudry, Murielle, Prof. Dr. (rapporteur)
8. Aerts, Peter, Dr. (rapporteur)