Radiolytic preparation and characterization of crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA) membranes
Crosslinked PVA membranes were fabricated by solution casting of the substituted PVA (SPVA), synthesized by the reaction of PVA with glycidyl acrylate (GMA) without catalyst in different molar ratios [-OH(PVA)/GMA], followed by electron beam irradiation. The chemical changes in the SPVA compared to PVA were confirmed from H-NMR and FT-IR analysis. Crosslinking degree and dimensional stability of the crosslinked PVA membranes also investigated by measuring gel fraction and dimensional change of the membranes under acidic and basic solution.