Leaching of PVP from polyacrylonitrile/PVP blending membranes: A comparative study of asymmetric and dense membranes

Abstract Poly( N ‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) (PVP) has been often used as an additive to improve the structure and performances of asymmetric membrane. In this work, we examined the leaching of PVP from polyacrylonitrile/PVP asymmetric membranes regarding the effect of leaching time, PVP content, and the molecular weight of PVP. Also, comparative studies of dense membranes were performed. It was found that the water contact angle on the dense membrane surface is very low compared with that on the asymmetric membrane surface. Results from X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy‐attenuated total reflection (FTIR‐ATR) showed that more amount of PVP exists at the surface layer of the dense membrane than at the asymmetric one. If the dense membrane was immersed into water for several hours and then dried in the air, the water contact angle increases and closes to that on the asymmetric membrane surface. Although leaching time was extended from 2 h to 15 days, PVP leaches out little from the asymmetric membrane. The leaching of PVP mainly occurs during the phase‐inversion process. Furthermore, the surface features were examined by atomic force microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy, respectively. In comparison with PVP K30, more PVP K90 remains in the asymmetric membrane based on the FTIR‐ATR spectra. However, it can be concluded from the results of XPS that at the most outer surface of the asymmetric membrane (e.g., in depth about 1∼2 nm), the residual PVP K90 is almost the same with PVP K30. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 1490–1498, 2006