Preparation and characterization of asymmetric polyarylene sulfide sulfone (PASS) solvent-resistant nanofiltration membranes

• Polyarylene sulfide sulfone (PASS) was first used for preparing SRNF membranes.
• PASS nanofiltration membranes treated by five solvents retained most properties.
• PASS nanofiltration membranes have a high water flux of 59.5 L h−1 m−2 at 0.5 MPa.

In this study, polyarylene sulfide sulfone (PASS) was first used for preparing asymmetric membranes by the non-solvent induced phase separation for organic nanofiltration. Structure of the PASS membrane was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the performance of the membranes were investigated by water permeability, dye rejection and solvent resistance measurement. Results showed that the PASS nanofiltration membranes had an asymmetric structure with a skin layer. Additionally, the PASS membranes had a high water flux of 59.5 L h−1 m−2 and an almost complete rejection of Rose Bengal. After treatment with five different solvents, the PASS membrane retained most initial properties. Especially, the membranes treated with ethyl acetate had the best performance with 64.9 L h−1 m−2 of water flux and a high rejection ratio (99.9%) of Rose Bengal.