Membranes prepared by self-assembly and chelation assisted phase inversion

Abstract

We combine self-assembly in solution, complexation with metallic salts and phase separation induced by solvent–non-solvent exchange to prepare nanostructured membranes for separation in the nanofiltration range. This method was applied to prepare membranes from newly synthesized poly(acrylic acid)-b-polysulfone-b-poly(acrylic acid) copolymers dissolved in a selective solvent mixture and immersed in aqueous Cu²⁺ or Ag⁺ solutions.