In this work, antifouling poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) microfiltration membrane was fabricated via surface activation by atmosphere plasma treatment and subsequently surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). Zwitterionic poly(lysine methacrylamide) (LysAA) brushes were successfully grafted onto membrane surface as confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The wetting ability of the graft membranes was improved significantly with water contact angle decreased from 121.6º to as low as 29.0º. The graft membranes also exhibited enhanced anti-protein-fouling and anti-oil-fouling properties with water flux recovery ratios as high as 86% and 82% respectively. This work provides a substrate-independent method for the fabrication of antifouling membranes with well-defined pLysAA brushes, which may find applications in protein separation, water treatment and oil/water separation, etc.
As reported herein, the waterborne polymers poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) P(GMA-co-mPEGMA) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) were used to prepare multipurpose polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes via a direct spray-coating method. P(GMA-co-mPEGMA) and PEI were alternately sprayed onto the PVDF membrane to yield stable cross-linked copolymer coatings. The successful coating of polymers onto the membrane surface was verified by scanning electron microscopy, attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization. The coated membrane exhibited oil rejection rates that exceeded 99.0% for oil water mixture separation and 98.0% for oil/water emulsion separation. The flux recovery ratio reached 96.7% after bovine serum albumin filtration and washing with water. The removal efficiencies of the coated membrane M3 for Congo red, methyl orange, methylene blue, and crystal violet, Pb(II), Cu(II), and Cd(II) were 82.4, 83.9, 6.3, 26.8, 90.6, 91.3, and 86.2%, respectively. Thus, it can be used for the removal of dyes and heavy metal ions from wastewater. The antibacterial activities of the coated membranes were also confirmed by the inhibition zone tests and confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis. In addition, the cross-linking strategy provides the coated membranes with excellent durability and repeatability. More importantly, the use of water as the solvent can ensure that the application of these membrane coatings proceeds via a very safe and environmentally friendly coating process.
Antifouling PVDF membranes were fabricated through the covalent binding of lysine methacrylamide (LysAA) brushes on the membrane surface via mussel-inspired surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP).
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