Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is an excellent membrane-forming polymer and can be modified with potato starch and methyl acrylate monomers to obtain copolymers with improved physical and chemical properties. The study presents the synthesis of poly(vinyl alcohol)-g-starch-poly(methyl acrylate) PVA-g-St-g-PMA copolymers using microwave irradiation technique and potassium persulfate initiator. Solution casting and solvent evaporation methods were adopted for the fabrication of polyvinyl alcohol-g-starch-acrylamide composite membranes. The synthesized graft copolymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and thermal analysis. The modified nanocomposite membranes were showed very promising results with the parameters permeability and selectivity. The nanocomposite membranes exhibited the advantages of easy handling and reuse.
Keywords: copolymer; gas permeation; membrane; permeability; selectivity.