Based on molecular dsign

a series of amphiphilic compolymers with different molecular structures and morphologies were synthesized via various methods such as free radical polymerization

etherification

esterification

atomic transfer radical polymerization(ATRP) and reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer(RAFT) polymerization

etc. The synthesis process

reaction conditions

and mechanisms were studied in detail.The structures of the resultant copolymers (including graft

block

alternate and super-branched etc.) were characterized by spectroscopy

and their properties were examined.These amphiphilic copolymers have various morphologies

such as linear

comb-like

dumbbell-like

and chain-sphere-like etc.On basis of the structure characters of the amphiphilic copolymers and polymer membrane materials

the synthesized copolymers were selected and used as additives to prepare blend membranes.The effects of amphiphilic copolymers on membrane structure and properties were investigated detailedly.The hydrophobic chains in amphiphilic copolymers are generally miscible with special membrane materials

while hydrophilic chains provide the blend membranes with enhanced hydrophilicity and fouling resistance.The studied membrane materials in this work include poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)

polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

polysulfone (PSF)

polyethersulfone (PES)

poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) (PPESK) etc.The structures and properties of the blend membranes were controlled via tuning the thermodynamics and kinetics of membraneforming systems.It was found that

during the course of membrane formation

amphiphilic copolymer additives accumulated spontaneously and self-organized on membrane surface.The coatings of amphiphilic copolymers on membrane surface promoted notably the hydrophilicity and anti-fouling ability of porous polymeric membranes.Based on these results

a new methodology for membrane modification that “surface modification is achieved by simple blending” was put forward.In addition

the functional groups in amphiphilic copolymers could endow the blend membranes with some special functions

such as biocompatibility

environmental responsivity

enzyme immobilization

etc.