Epoxy functionalized poly(ether-sulfone) incorporated cellulose acetate ultrafiltration membrane for the removal of chromium ions

Epoxy functionalized poly(ether-sulfone) (PES) was prepared and it was utilized as the hydrophilic modification agent for the preparation of high performance cellulose acetate (CA) membranes by phase inversion technique. The prepared membranes were characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), pure water flux, water content, porosity, and contact angle technique to investigate the influence of EPES on the final properties of the membranes. Intermolecular interactions between the components in blend membranes were established by ATR-FTIR and semicrystalline nature was confirmed by XRD. From the morphological study, it was revealed that the connectivity of pores between sub-layer and bottom layer is improved significantly in blend membranes. The contact angle measurements indicated that the hydrophilicity of the CA membranes enhanced in the addition of EPES. The efficiency of these membranes in the separation of chromium ions was studied and found to be improved considerably in CA/EPES blend membranes. Attempts have been made to correlate the changes in membrane morphology with the compaction, pure water flux, water content and separation efficiency of the CA/EPES membranes. From the results, it was concluded that CA ultrafiltration membranes prepared by the incorporation of EPES may be valuable in the removal of chromium ions from aqueous streams.

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► Epoxy functionalized PES was prepared and utilized as hydrophilic modification agent.
► EPES incorporated CA ultrafiltration membranes were prepared.
► Morphology, hydrophilicity and separation efficiency of chromium ions were studied.
► Separation efficiency of membranes was correlated with morphology and hydrophilicity.