Synthesis of amphiphilic tri-block copolymer poly(vinylpyrrolidone)-b-poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly(vinylpyrrolidone) for the modification of polyethersulfone membrane

Well-defined amphiphilic tri-block copolymer PVP-b-PMMA-b-PVP was prepared for the first time via successive reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization using carboxyl-terminated trithiocarbonate as the RAFT agent. The structure of the copolymer was characterized using FTIR, GPC and H-1 NMR. The block copolymer could be directly blended with polyethersulfone (PES) as a macromolecule additive using N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as the solvent to prepare membranes. The water contact angles for the modified membranes decreased obviously, and therefore, the protein adsorption amount on the membrane surface decreased. (C) 2010 Chang Sheng Zhao. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.