Preparation and characterization of antibacterial microporous membranes fabricated by poly(AMS-co-DMAEMA) grafted polypropylene via melt-stretching method

Polypropylene microporous membranes are typical hydrophobic separation membranes, but the high hydrophobicity and lack of functionality easily cause bacterial adhesion, thus inducing membrane pollution. Poly(AMS-co-DMAEMA) (PAD) was designed and synthesized by copolymerization of alpha-methyl styrene (AMS) and functional monomer 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA), and then grafted onto PP chains by melt blending. Microporous membranes of blended PP containing different contents of PAD are made by casting and stretching, and the polycation microporous membrane is then obtained via quaternization. The permeability and porosity of the microporous membrane achieve the best when the grafting efficiency reaches 42.16%, and the hydrophilicity of the microporous membrane is improved. The results show that the modified membranes fabricated in this method have good antibacterial properties. (C) 2018 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.