Development of thermo-responsive poly(vinyl alcohol)-g-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) copolymeric membranes for separation of isopropyl alcohol/water mixtures via pervaporation

This study aims to develop thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) grafted poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA-g-PNIPAAm) copolymer membranes for separation of isopropyl alcohol (IPA)/water mixtures via pervaporation. PVA-g-PNIPAAm copolymers were synthesized by microwave supported graft copolymerization. Structure of copolymers was characterized by element analysis, FTIR, TGA/DTG/DSC, C-13 NMR and SEC. PVA-g-PNIPAAm membranes prepared with casting technique were characterized by SEM-AFM. Effects of grafting yield, operation temperature, and feed concentration on separation factor and flux were investigated to determine the membrane performance. The maximum separation factor was 95 with flux of 0.011 kg/m(2) h at 87.4% IPA. Thermo-responsive PVA-g-PNIPAAm membranes developed in this study are promising for pervaporation. (C) 2016 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.