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The modification of chemical and physical properties of polypropylene (PP) membrane has been of interest as the creation of hydrophilic surface broadens their potential applications. Herein, we describe the use of laser surface modification methodology to overcome the hydrophobic nature of polypropylene membrane via the deployment of an ArF excimer laser. The modified samples were characterized by means of attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), water contact angle (WCA) measurement, and water flux (WF) test. The results suggest that ArF excimer laser irradiation of PP membrane results in the generation of some polar functional groups and surface morphological changes both of them being effective for enhancing the hydrophilicity of PP membrane. In addition, despite increased hydrophilicity of PP membrane at higher fluences of ArF excimer laser, WF decreases due to the covering of pores by melted PP; being 100 mJ/cm2 under the optimized laser fluence.
•ArF excimer laser treatment of polypropylene (PP) membrane was performed.•Modified surface of PP was investigated by XPS and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy.•Water flux improvement was discerned at nearly laser ablation threshold fluence.•Maximum hydrophilicity of polypropylene membrane occurs at higher laser fluence.