Rodamine B Incorporation Into Polyamide Membrane By Adsorption Method

We have incorporated rhodamine into polyamide membranes by additive manufacture selective laser sintering technology. Incorporation into 0.5 cm(2) membranes was conducted at different pH values and constant temperature of 25 degrees C. The amounts of incorporated dye were determined by a calibration curve, and analyses showed rhodamine incorporation in the order of 10-6 mol L-1. The absorption spectra of the solutions and membranes after rhodamine incorporation showed maximum absorption at 553 nm and a shoulder at 522 nm, which indicated that a dimer was formed. Photoluminescence presented maximum emission at 575 nm for the sample incorporated with rhodamine in acid pH. The membranes that were treated with acid presented shorter adsorption time and demanded 180 min to reach equilibrium, whereas the non-treated membrane and the membranes that were treated with base required 1440 min to reach equilibrium. Polyamide membrane has proven to be an excellent material for the incorporation of dyes and compounds for application as luminescent sensors.