| abstract |
A membrane or laminate (10) consisting essentially of microporous polymerized material (12) consisting essentially of a precursor material which forms a homogenous solution with a liquid vehicle and is 1) rapidly polymerizable under ultraviolet or electron beam irradiation to a polymerized material, which is insoluble and nondispersible in the liquid vehicle, and 2) selected from the group consisting of organic monomers, organic oligomers, and mixtures thereof which are soluble in the liquid vehicle, the liquid vehicle being inert relative to the precursor material and optionally a support material (14) laminated directly to the microporous material. The precursor microporous material may include a hydrophobic monomer. The instant invention further provides a method for manufacturing the fluid permeable microporous membrane laminate (10) including the steps of mixing the precursor material into the liquid vehicle, forming the composition into a thin liquid layer, applying a support material (14) into intimate contact with the liquid layer, exposing the combined liquid layer and support material (14) to ultraviolet or electron beam irradiation to finally cure the liquid layer and form a laminate with the support material 14, and removing the liquid vehicle from the laminate (10). |