NOVEL THIN-FILM COMPOSITE MEMBRANES CONTAINING PHOTOREACTIVE GROUPS. PART II: REVERSE OSMOSIS MEMBRANE DEVELOPMENT.

A photochemical reaction technique is used to modify the surface of reverse osmosis thin-film composite membranes. A photolabile moiety is introduced into the membrane surface during the interfacial polymerization step used to form the thin-film membrane coating. The photolabile moiety can be subsequently reacted in the presence of light to form a wide variety of different functional groups. Reverse osmosis flux and separation for inorganic salts are dependent on the nature of the functional group. Results for membranes that have been converted to acidic, basic, and ester forms are presented.