Vapor deposition of blanket polymeric nanocoatings on porous substrates for the facile preparation of thin film composite membranes

• Polymeric thin films were deposited by iCVD method on nonwoven fabric supports.
• iCVD allowed very high deposition rates at low substrate temperatures.
• SEM analysis confirmed a defect-free blanket type coating over the membrane support.
• The resultant TFC membrane was used for the selectively facilitated transport of Cr(VI).

In this study a thin film composite (TFC) membrane was fabricated using initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) of poly(glycidyl methacrylate-diethylamino ethyl methacrylate) thin films on porous fabric membrane supports. iCVD allowed very high deposition rates (50 nm min−1) at low substrate temperatures. SEM analysis confirmed that iCVD forms a defect-free blanket type coating over the support surface. The resultant TFC membrane was used for the selectively facilitated transport of Cr(VI) with a maximum transport amount of 81.25% in aqueous medium. The transport efficiency of the TFC membrane was reproducible and it could be efficiently used in the long-term separation processes.