The Modification of PVDF Membrane via Crosslinking with Chitosan and Glutaraldehyde as the Crosslinking Agent

Romaya Sitha Silitonga (Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), Jl. Arief Rahman Hakim, Sukolilo, Surabaya 60111, Indonesia)
Nurul Widiastuti (Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), Jl. Arief Rahman Hakim, Sukolilo, Surabaya 60111, Indonesia)
Juhana Jaafar (Faculty of Petroleum and Renewable Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia)
Ahmad Fauzi Ismail (Faculty of Petroleum and Renewable Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia)
Muhammad Nidzhom Zainol Abidin (Faculty of Petroleum and Renewable Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia)
Ihsan Wan Azelee (Faculty of Petroleum and Renewable Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia)
Mahesan Naidu (Faculty of Petroleum and Renewable Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia)

Indonesian Journal of Chemistry
Vol 18, No 1 (2018)

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) has outstanding properties such as high thermal stability, resistance to acid solvents and good mechanical strength. Due to its properties, PVDF is widely used as a membrane matrix. However, PVDF membrane is hydrophobic properties, so as for specific applications, the surface of membrane needs to be modified to become hydrophilic. This research aims to modify PVDF membrane surface with chitosan and glutaraldehyde as a crosslinker agent. The FTIR spectra showed that the modified membrane has a peak at 1655 cm-1, indicating the imine group (–N=C)- that was formed due to the crosslink between amine group from chitosan and aldehyde group from glutaraldehyde. Results showed that the contact angle of the modified membrane decreases to 77.22° indicated that the membrane hydrophilic properties (< 90°) were enhanced. Prior to the modification, the contact angle of the PVDF membrane was 90.24°, which shows hydrophobic properties (> 90°). The results of porosity, Ɛ (%) for unmodified PVDF membrane was 55.39%, while the modified PVDF membrane has a porosity of 81.99%. Similarly, by modifying the PVDF membrane, pure water flux increased from 0.9867 L/m2h to 1.1253 L/m2h. The enhancement of porosity and pure water flux for the modified PVDF membrane was due to the improved surface hydrophilicity of PVDF membrane.