Synthesis and characterisation of a polysulfone-polyvinyl alcohol hydrogelic material

Abstract

Hydrogels are flexible materials that have found a niche in membrane science owing to their ability to absorb water without dissolving. The synthesis of polyvinyl alcohol-polysulfone hydrogel in the presence of N-hydroxy succinimide is presented herein. This hydrogel is characterised using FTIR spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, SEM and electrochemical techniques. The FTIR spectroscopic analysis shows that the hydrogel retains bonds that are related to both polysulfone and polyvinyl alcohol moieties. The new hydrogel displays a highly branched morphology with reduced pore size in comparison with polysulfone. The hydrogel also has a lower charge transfer resistance (Rct: 12.065 k) in comparison with the polysulfone (Rct: 23.260 k), which implies that the hydrogel is more conductive than the original polysulphone.