The selection of polyethersulfone/polyvinylpyrrolidone films for industrial application using the multiple‐criteria decision‐making approach

Abstract The polyethersulfone (PES)‐based composite polymers have been extensively studied for many years as the core of various scientific activities, such as fuel cell production, water treatment, reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and gas separation, which represent a significant field of research for several applications. In the present study, PES and polyvinylpyrrolidone‐coated magnetic core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) are synthesized. Following this, a range of these NPs and PES blend polymers are prepared. Then, analyzing methods are used for identification and characterization of a variety of these samples. Since some properties of the samples have been improved, and others are attenuated, the best composition could not be selected from the samples without a logical process. To do so, a multiple‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM) technique that considers all the desired parameters is utilized. A MCDM algorithm is applied to create a ranking of alternative properties from the best to the worst, alongside mathematical calculations which accounts for the relative importance of the criteria. Results have shown that PES film with 15% of polymer‐coated NPs presents the best performance based on the desired properties.