Thin film of poly(bis[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]phosphate) grafted on surface of poly(ether sulfone) membrane for plutonium(IV)-selective alpha tracks registration in CR-39 detector

To impart chemical selectivity in the solid state nuclear track detector based quantification of Pu(IV) ions, a thin film of polymer of bis[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]phosphate was anchored on one surface of poly(ether sulfone) membrane by UV-induced graft polymerization. The different studies suggested that surface morphology of the grafted membrane did change significantly with respect to the pristine membrane, but pore-size distribution and void volume remained unaffected. It was observed that thus formed membrane sorb Pu(IV) ions from 3 mol L^-1 HNO₃ solution with a high efficiency; and could be used for their quantification by registering the alpha particles tracks in CR-39. (author)