Abstract
Antifouling poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) porous membranes have been fabricated via blending method with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-containing additives and surface grafting technique. Although, it is still a great challenge to simplify the modification processes. Here, a simple process is introduced to fabricate antifouling PVDF porous membranes based on the in situ cross-linking polymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) in the casting solutions and the classical non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) technique. The surface chemical compositions of the prepared PEGylated PVDF membranes were characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The results confirmed that poly(PEGMA) (PPEGMA) chains have been synthesized and immobilized on the membrane surfaces, leading to enhanced hydrophilicity. With increasing PEGMA content, the membrane surfaces changed from the slim fiber-like structure to the sheet morphology with large roughness, meanwhile the finger-like structure elongated in terms of the cross-section morphology. Furthermore, after introducing PPEGMA chains, the flux recovery rate increased to 90.3 ± 2.8% after 3 cycles, indicating improved antifouling ability. The present work provides a convenient method for fabrication antifouling porous membranes for water treatment and purification in large scale.
Published Version
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