Preparation and characterization of crosslinked poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate hydrogels as fouling-resistant membrane coating materials

A family of crosslinked poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (XLPEGDA) materials was synthesized via free-radical photopolymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) solutions in water. These materials are potential fouling-resistant coatings for ultrafiltration (UF) membranes. PEGDA chain length (n = 10–45, where n is the average number of ethylene oxide units in the PEGDA molecule) and water content in the prepolymerization mixture (0–80 wt.%) were varied, resulting in XLPEGDA materials with water permeability values ranging from 0.5 to 150 L μm/(m2 h bar). Generally, water permeability increased with increasing prepolymerization water content and with increasing PEGDA chain length. Moreover, water permeability exhibits a strong correlation with equilibrium water uptake. However, solute rejection, probed using poly(ethylene glycol)s of well defined molar mass, decreased with increasing prepolymerization water content and increasing PEGDA chain length. That is, there is a tradeoff between water permeability and separation properties. Finally, the fouling resistance of XLPEGDA materials was characterized via contact angle measurements and static protein adhesion experiments. From these results, XLPEGDA surfaces are more hydrophilic in samples prepared at higher prepolymerization water content or with longer PEGDA chains, and the more hydrophilic surfaces generally exhibit less BSA accumulation.