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We modified poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes with a polydopamine (PDA) coating for photocatalytic membrane reactor application with appropriate UV resistance and studied the effects of the PDA coating conditions (i.e., coating time and dopamine concentration) and UV irradiation time on the modified PVDF membrane properties. The PVDF membrane that was surface‐coated with the appropriate dopamine solution concentration and coating time played a key role in controlling the membrane properties and in protecting the modified membrane against UV radiation. The optimization of the coating condition not only completely protected the modified membrane from free‐radical attack initiated through UV irradiation but also improved the membrane hydrophilicity, antifouling properties, filtration performance, and mechanical strength of the membrane. UV irradiation of the membrane that was surface‐coated with a high‐concentration dopamine solution for a long coating time resulted in a higher mechanical strength than that of the membrane without the application of UV irradiation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47312.

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Composite ultrafiltration membranes were successfully fabricated by blending a nonionic surfactant and inorganic nanoparticles via a nonsolvent‐induced phase separation (NIPS) method. Brij35 was used as the nonionic surfactant and silica (SiO2) nanoparticles from rice husk ash, a low cost and widely available material, were used as the inorganic nanoparticles. The synergetic effect of both additives was used to tailor the membrane structure and properties because the selected additives showed completely different or, in some cases, the opposite effect on the membrane properties and structure. The combined effects of Brij and SiO2 resulted in a membrane with a noticeable improvement in membrane overall performance including pure water permeability, hydrophilicity, antifouling properties, long‐term stability, tensile strength, on the cost of a slight decrease in membrane elongation. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47737.

Biofouling on the membrane surface leads to performance deficiencies in membrane filtration. In this study, the application of ginger extract as a bio-based additive to enhance membrane antibiofouling properties was investigated. The extract was dispersed in a dimethyl acetamide (DMAc) solvent together with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) to enhance biofouling resistance of the resulting membrane due to its antibiotic property. The concentrations of the ginger extract in the dope solution were varied in the range of 0–0.1 wt %. The antibacterial property of the resulting membranes was assessed using the Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. The results show an inhibition zone formed around the PVDF/ginger membrane against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus demonstrating the efficacy of the residual ginger extract in the membrane matrix to impose the antibiofouling property. The addition of the ginger extract also enhanced the hydrophilicity in the membrane surface by lowering the contact angle from 93° to 85°, which was in good agreement with the increase in the pure water flux of up to 62%.