UNDERSTANDING THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT POLYMERIC PHASES IN THE PREPARATION OF SPOROPOLLENIN-FUNCTIONALIZED METHYLIMIDAZOLIUM-BASED MIXED MATRIX MEMBRANE.

Abstract

Mixed matrix membrane (MMM) is the new age hybrid membrane that combines two different phases and brings out the best of both in the final product. Essentially, MMM comprises a continuous polymer phase, which serves as the base platform and a particle phase that is embedded and dispersed onto the polymer phase. Conventional polymeric membranes constantly face issues in the form of low permeability, low selectivity, low mechanical strength, high fouling and in some cases low chemical resistance. The hybridization of the polymer phase with a particle phase, or sometimes referred to as fillers, has been reported to overcome these hurdles. For this study, the MMM was prepared with sporopollenin-functionalized methylimidazolium (SpMIM) as the particle phase. Two different polymer phases were explored, namely polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and cellulose triacetate (CTA). The morphology was analyzed using a field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) while particle phase dispersion was observed with optical microscope imaging. Chromatographic analysis was accomplished using high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). The prepared MMM was subjected to batch adsorption analysis of selected substituted phenol analytes. FESEM surface analysis of the MMM notably displays clearly defined embedment of SpMIM in CTA, whilst it is less discernible in PMMA. Optical imaging also notes that the dispersion of SpMIM is both dense and compacted in CTA compared to PMMA. Both the PMMA and CTA based MMM were able to successfully adsorb the substituted phenol analytes. However, batch adsorption analysis of selected substituted phenol analytes reveals that PMMA records a moderately better adsorptive interaction with the selected substituted phenol analytes. This phenomenon is attributed to the strong ?-? interaction between the aromatic groups in PMMA and the analytes.