Carboxylic Acid Functional Groups Research Articles

Effect of heat and moisture on surface titratability and pore size distribution of Victorian brown coals

Separating brown coal from its water in an energy-efficient manner is a major challenge, which if successful would substantially improve its combustion efficiency. Many dewatering processes are being investigated, most of which involve heat and pressure to reduce the porosity and number of water-binding surface groups in brown coal. Here we report the results of studies into the effect of temperature and moisture levels on the properties of the brown coal produced. The accessibility of surface functional groups to water was measured using an aqueous titration technique and pore size distribution was measured using mercury porosimetry. We found that heating dry brown coals substantially reduces the accessibility of titratable surface groups on brown coals and that loss of carboxylic acid functional groups on heating is insufficient to explain this effect. Mercury porosimetry indicates that blockage of pores on the size scales reachable by this measurement is unlikely to explain this loss of accessibility, and so the mechanism responsible for this pore blockage is acting on <5nm pores. This effect of heating is less marked if the coal had been heated in the presence of water. This indicates that this blocking process is strongly influenced by the local environment. The porosity of the dried coal decreased with increasing heat treatment temperature.

Solvent- and catalyst-free, quantitative protection of hydroxyl, thiol, carboxylic acid, amide and heterocyclic amino functional groups

Various substrates are quantitatively protected by 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran at 125 °C in the absence of any additional chemicals, without generating any waste materials.

Particle size and particle–particle interactions on tensile properties and reinforcement of corn flour particles in natural rubber

Renewable corn flour has significant reinforcement effect in natural rubber. The corn flour was hydrolyzed and microfluidized to reduce its particle size. Greater than 90% of the hydrolyzed corn flour had an average size of ∼300nm, a reduction of 33 times compared to un-hydrolyzed corn flour. Compared to un-hydrolyzed corn flour composites, the composites filled with 10–40% hydrolyzed corn flour had a significant increase in tensile strength (29–48%), Young’s modulus (16–74%), and toughness (33–55%), but a decrease in elongation (4–29%). The 300% modulus also increased 2–3 times. Particle agglomeration at higher filler concentration observed by swelling study was significantly reduced after corn flour was oxidized to introduce particle–particle repulsion with negatively charged carboxylic acid functional groups. The oxidized corn flour was also found to interfere with sulfur crosslinking process and behaved like a scorch retarder. Reinforcement factor at linear viscoelastic region can be described by mechanical models for anisotropic reinforcement elements. The aspect ratio of the reinforcement elements also decreased as the temperature increased, indicating polymer softening within the reinforcement elements.

Association of inorganic species release with sugar recovery during wood hydrothermal processing

Over 90% of the inherent Mg and Ca in wood can be released during wood hydrothermal processing in a semi-continuous flow reactor at 10MPa and 150°C. An increase in temperature to 180°C results in rapid release of Mg and Ca, but a further increase in temperature has little effect. The release of Mg and Ca is associated with the conversion of organic matter during hydrothermal processing. In particular, the release of water-insoluble Mg and Ca correlates well with the arabinose recovery, suggesting that these species are bound to carboxylic acid functional group on hemicellulose side chains and their release requires the cleavage of these side chains.

Synthon preference in a hydrated β-resorcylic acid structure and its cocrystal with thymine.

Multicomponent crystals or cocrystals play a significant role in crystal engineering, the main objective of which is to understand the role of intermolecular interactions and to utilize such understanding in the design of novel crystal structures. Molecules possessing carboxylic acid and amide functional groups are good candidates for forming cocrystals. β-Resorcylic acid monohydrate, C7H6O4·H2O, (I), crystallizes in the triclinic space group P-1 with one β-resorcylic acid molecule and one water molecule in the asymmetric unit. The cocrystal thymine-β-resorcylic acid-water (1/1/1), C5H6N2O2·C7H6O4·H2O, (II), crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pca21, with one molecule each of thymine, β-resorcylic acid and water in the asymmetric unit. All available donor and acceptor atoms in (I) and (II) are utilized for hydrogen bonding. The acid and amide functional groups are well known for the formation of self-complementary acid-acid and amide-amide homosynthons. In (I), an acid-acid homosynthon is observed, while in (II), an amide-acid heterosynthon is present. In (I), the β-resorcylic acid molecule exhibits the expected intramolecular S(6) motif between the hydroxy and carbonyl O atoms, and an intermolecular R2(2)(8) dimer motif between the carboxylic acid groups; only the former motif is observed in (II). The water solvent molecule in (I) propagates the discrete dimers into two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded sheets. In (II), thymine and β-resorcylic acid molecules do not form self-complementary amide-amide and acid-acid homosynthons; instead, a thymine-β-resorcylic acid heterosynthon is observed. With the help of the water molecule, this heterosynthon is aggregated into a three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded network. The absence of thymine base pairing in (II) might be linked to the availability of additional functional groups and the preference of the donor and acceptor hydrogen-bond combinations.

Effects of Ligands on Charge Generation and Recombination in Hybrid Polymer/Quantum Dot Solar Cells

Control of quantum dot surface chemistry offers a direct approach to tune the molecular interface between donor and acceptor constituents in hybrid bulk heterojunction photovoltaics incorporating organic semiconductors and colloidal quantum dots. We investigate the effects of altering the quantum dot surface chemistry via ligand exchange in blends of PbS quantum dots with the conjugated polymer poly((4,8-bis(octyloxy)benzo(1,2-b:4,5-b′)dithiophene-2,6-diyl)(2-((dodecyloxy)carbonyl)thieno(3,4-b)thiophenediyl)) (PTB1). We study organic ligands with both thiol and carboxylic acid functional groups including 1,2-ethanedithiol (EDT), 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA), and malonic acid (MA), in addition to inorganic halide ions such as tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI). We show that the different ligand treatments influence hybrid solar cell efficiency primarily through changes in open-circuit voltage (VOC) and fill factor (FF). We use photoinduced absorption (PIA) spectroscopy to probe the generation of long-lived...

Bio-Inspired Electroactive Organic Molecules for Aqueous Redox Flow Batteries. 1. Thiophenoquinones

Redox flow batteries (RFB) utilizing water-soluble organic redox couples are a new strategy for low-cost, eco-friendly, and durable stationary electrical energy storage. Previous studies have focused on benzoquinones, napthoquinones, and anthraquinones as the electroactive species. Here, we explore a new class of molecules—thiophenoquinones—specifically focusing on the caldariellaquinone-, sulfolobusquinone-, and benzodithiophenoquinone-like frameworks that are used for metabolic processes in thermophilic aerobic Sulfolobus archaebacteria. We demonstrated that B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) thermochemical calculations (using the SMD solvation model) reproduce experimental reduction potentials to within ±0.04 V. We then studied the effect of amine, hydroxyl, methyl, fluoro, phosphonic acid, sulfonic acid, carboxylic acid, and nitro functional group modifications on the reduction potential and Gibbs energy of solvation in water (using density functional theory) and aqueous solubility (using cheminformatics). Next we enumerated all of the 10 611 possible combinations of functional group substitutions on these frameworks and identified 1056 potential molecules with solubilities exceeding 2 mol/L; of these, 36 molecules have reduction potentials below 0.25 V and 15 molecules above 0.95 V (versus the standard hydrogen electrode (SHE)). The combination of high solubility and wide voltage range makes these molecules promising candidates for high performance aqueous RFB applications. Finally, using our data set of ab initio reduction potentials, we developed a cheminformatics model that predicts ab initio reduction potentials to within ±0.09 V based solely on molecular connectivity. We found that a model trained with as few as 200 examples generates rank-ordered predictions allowed us to identify the highest performance candidates with half the number of ab initio calculations. This offers a strategy for improving the tractability of future computational searches for high performance RFB molecules.

ChemInform Abstract: Recent Progress of Sugar Amino Acids: Synthetic Strategies and Applications as Glycomimetics and Peptidomimetics

AbstractReview: 39 refs.

Dimeric FeFe-hydrogenase mimics bearing carboxylic acids: Synthesis and electrochemical investigation

Hydrogen is expected to be important for future sustainable energy applications. Recent interest in adsorbing water splitting catalysts on a semiconductor surface for electrocatalytic hydrogen production warrants careful study of electrocatalysts with functional groups capable of binding to a surface. The monomeric complex Fe2(μ-S2(CH2)3)(CO)5PPh2C6H4CO2H (S2(CH2)3=1,3-propanedithiolate, pdt) and the dimeric complexes [{Fe2(μ-pdt)(CO)5}2(μ,κ1,κ1-Ph2PCH2N(Ar)CH2PPh2)] (Ar=p-CO2H-Ph, 3,5-CO2HPh, p-CH2CO2HPh, m-CO2H-Ph) bearing carboxylic acid functional groups have been prepared. The first electrochemical study of these dimeric FeFe complexes indicate that the complexes degrade upon reduction to form the species [Fe2(μ-pdt)(CO)4(κ2-Ph2PCH2N(Ar)CH2PPh2)]. A route is proposed for the formation of [Fe2(μ-pdt)(CO)4(κ2-Ph2PCH2N(Ar)CH2PPh2)] from [{Fe2(μ-pdt)(CO)5}2(μ,κ1,κ1-Ph2PCH2N(Ar)CH2PPh2)] and a crystal structure of an intermediate in the proposed electrochemical degradation pathway is presented. The electrochemical study presented herein provides valuable insight into degradation pathways of FeFe hydrogenase mimics bearing carboxylic acids amenable to surface immobilization.

Water-Soluble Graft Copolymer Synthesized from Collagenous Waste and Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) with Functional Carboxylic Chains: A Highly Efficient Adsorbent for Chromium(III) with Continuous Recycling and Molecular Docking Studies

A pragmatic pathway to zero emission is achieved by utilizing solid and liquid wastes completely by recycling and generating value-added auxiliaries from chrome shaving waste through process-intensified unit operations. Graft copolymer was synthesized from chrome shaving waste and polyethylene glycol (PEG), which is used as an adsorbent in the fresh chrome tanning process. The copolymer was characterized via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and particle size analyses. FT-IR results have been characterized, confirming that the presence of free functional carboxylic acid is involved in chromium adsorption. The application of 6% copolymer in chrome tanning showed 95.95% optimal adsorption of chromium in the first cycle and 98.90% optimal adsorption of chromium in the second cycle. 1H NMR investigation revealed a peak at 8.384 ppm (6% copolymer) in the experimental sample, confirming that the participation of free functional carboxylic acid groups plays a primary role in adsorbing chromium. Molecular modeling showed an increased adsorption of chromium and greater participation of ligand–copolymer with collagen, resulting in a docking energy of 3.9 kcal/mol through hydrogen bonding, establishing the spatial arrangement of the active functional groups. A mathematical model for the prediction of concentration of chromium adsorbed by the copolymer has been proposed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) studies confirmed an increase in the adsorption of Cr especially: 6.33 wt % of Cr (2.03 at. %) in samples containing 6% copolymer. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies from topography and deflection showed clear pictures of increased adsorption of chromium by the copolymer, indicated by the absence of chromium spots on the surface for the experimental samples.

Synthesis of Building Blocks for Carbopeptoids and Their Triazole Isoster Assembly

Synthetic approaches to new N-protected γ- and δ-furanoid sugar amino acids (SAAs) or tetrahydrofuran amino acids were developed. SAAs have emerged as valuable building blocks for the syntheses of peptide mimetics, so-called carbopeptoids. 3-C-Substituted 1,2-O-isopropylidene-α-D-allofuranose derivatives were used as starting materials. The designed SAAs contain either cis- or trans-oriented C(3)-aminomethyl and C(4)- or C(5)-carboxylic acid functional groups attached to the 1,2-O-isopropylidene furanoid core, thus providing different spatial arrangements. Short-chain homooligomers derived from a γ-SAA and from a δ-SAA were synthesized as the initial step towards exploration of new carbopeptoids. The key intermediates of these SAA syntheses can easily be transformed into the corresponding molecules containing azide and terminal alkyne moieties and as such have potential for future use for the syntheses of 1,2,3-triazole isosters of peptides.

Preparation of Highly Porous Coordination Polymer Coatings on Macroporous Polymer Monoliths for Enhanced Enrichment of Phosphopeptides.

We describe a protocol for the preparation of hybrid materials based on highly porous coordination polymer coatings on the internal surface of macroporous polymer monoliths. The developed approach is based on the preparation of a macroporous polymer containing carboxylic acid functional groups and the subsequent step-by-step solution-based controlled growth of a layer of a porous coordination polymer on the surface of the pores of the polymer monolith. The prepared metal-organic polymer hybrid has a high specific micropore surface area. The amount of iron(III) sites is enhanced through metal-organic coordination on the surface of the pores of the functional polymer support. The increase of metal sites is related to the number of iterations of the coating process. The developed preparation scheme is easily adapted to a capillary column format. The functional porous polymer is prepared as a self-contained single-block porous monolith within the capillary, yielding a flow-through separation device with excellent flow permeability and modest back-pressure. The metal-organic polymer hybrid column showed excellent performance for the enrichment of phosphopeptides from digested proteins and their subsequent detection using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The presented experimental protocol is highly versatile, and can be easily implemented to different organic polymer supports and coatings with a plethora of porous coordination polymers and metal-organic frameworks for multiple purification and/or separation applications.

Self Assembled Chemical Field Effect Transistors for Heavy Metal Detection

In this paper, we demonstrate improvements on semiconductor ChemFET sensors that have enabled fast sensor response times and an inexpensive method for the detection of mercury and other heavy metal concentrations. The ChemFET structure was built on a 200nm-thick silicon on insulator (SOI) layer. The exposed channel area is 100 microns by 100 microns. 500 micron by 500 micron ohmic contacts were patterned by lift-off for source and drain metal contacts. 100-nm-thick HybridShield® was used to encapsulate the source/drain regions, with only the gate region open to allow the liquid solutions to cross the surface. For comparison, the chemFET sensors were modified in three ways, initially with the intent of targeting mercury and lead ions, respectively. The first modification was designed for mercury selectivity and was achieved using a self-assembly system which includes poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) as an initial surface modification for the application of gold nanoparticles at the sensor gate. A layer-by-layer series of gold nanopaticle bilayers was added until a reasonable coverage was assumed based upon prior experience. The gold nanoparticles are functionalized with a self-assembled monolayer of thioglycolic acid. Any additional thioglycolic acid molecules were rinsed off with de-ionized water. The build-up of the thickness of the gold nanoparticle bilayers is approximately linear at a rate of 2nm/bilayer. For the initial chemFET sensor, nine bilayers were applied prior to testing of the sensor. A less than 10s response time to Hg ion solution was obtained for the self assembled ChemFET. The Hg ion concentration detection limit for the thioglycolic acid functionalized ChemFET sensor is approximately 0.1 ppm. The drain current for the Cs ion remains unchanged during the exposure and the current is reduced after exposure to the Cr, Hg, Pb and As ions. The response for the Hg ion, with a normalized current change of -2.5%, is significantly higher than that for other ions. This is due to the fact that the thioglycolic acid molecules on the Au surface align vertically with the carboxylic acid functional group, toward the solution. The second modification was designed for lead selectivity and was achieved by depositing the following chemicals to the ChemFET sensor. It is noted that polyvinylchloride is a support matrix for the ionophore N,N,N′,N′-Tetradodecyl-3,6-dioxaoctanedithioamide which is sensitive primarily to lead. The modified chemFET sensors were then conditioned in a 1x10 -5 M solution of cadmium nitrate in deionized water over night. Again, the sensor was exposed to different target molecules with the same concentration of 10ppm. An increase in the hydrophilicity of the treated surface was confirmed by contact angle measurement. It is noted that the drain current for the Cs and Cr ions remains relatively unchanged during the exposure. The current decreased after exposure to the Hg and As ions. However, the drain current increased after exposure to the Pb ion. This is significant, because the N,N,N′,N′-Tetradodecyl-3,6-dioxaoctanedithioamide-functionalized chemFET sensor shows selectivity of Pb ion against other heavy metal ions. The third modification is a hybrid study by combining 18 bilayers of self assembled gold nanoparticles and N,N,N′,N′-Tetradodecyl-3,6-dioxaoctanedithioamide ionophore. The sensor was exposed to different targets (Cs, Cd, Hg, Pb, As, Cr3+ and Cr6+) with the same concentration of 100ppm. It is noted that the responses for the Cr3+ and Cr6+, with the normalized current change of 2.9% for Cr3+ and 5.9% for Cr6+, are significantly higher than for other ions such as Cs, Cd, Hg, Pb and As. This demonstrates that by design, we can combine self-assembled gold nanoparticles and lead ionophore, and are able to produce a sensor that is sensitive and selective to not only chromium, but also Cr3+ and Cr6+. The self assembly process is critically important to obtaining the desired combined properties, due to of a high electron sheet carrier concentration channel induced by the strained semiconductor SOI layer and the self assembled bonds.

PH Sensitivity of Ion Exchange through a Thin Film Composite Membrane in Forward Osmosis

The uneven permeation of cations and anions through forward osmosis membranes offers a new technical challenge in the development of forward osmosis processes. Cation exchange in polyamide thin film composite membranes is caused by carboxylic acid functional groups within the structure of these membranes’ selective layers. These functional groups will gain or lose a proton depending on the external solution pH. The deprotonation of a polyamide at alkaline pHs results in a net negative charge, allowing for the exchange of cations between feed and draw solutions having monovalent cations. In this study, the importance of solution pH in influencing cation transport across a commercial thin film composite forward osmosis membrane was examined. It was found that cation transport across this membrane varies significantly with changes in pH and occurred fastest at alkaline pH.

Directed Neural Stem Cell Differentiation with a Functionalized Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite.

Neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation has the potential to restore function to diseased or damaged nervous tissue, but poor control over cell survival, differentiation, and maturation limits therapeutic prospects. Engineered scaffolds that have the ability to drive neural stem cell behavior can address these limitations facing cell transplantation. Conducting polymers, which have the ability to electrically interface with cells, are attractive scaffolding candidates, but they lack the capacity for simple covalent modification, which would enable surface patterning of biomolecules. In this work, the NSC scaffolding performance of a nanocomposite composed of conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets (GO/PEDOT) is investigated. The GO/PEDOT material is nontoxic and improves NSC differentiation toward the neuronal lineage. Biomolecules interferon-γ (IFNγ) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) that selectively promote neuronal or oligodendrocyte lineage differentiation, respectively, are covalently cross-linked to the surface of the GO/PEDOT nanocomposite via carboxylic acid functional groups provided by GO using carbodiimide chemistry. The surfaces support a larger population of neurons when modified with IFNγ and a larger population of oligodendrocytes when modified by PDGF. This work demonstrates the customizability of GO/PEDOT for cell scaffolding applications and underlines its potential for controlling NSC behavior to improve therapeutic potential.

Recent progress of sugar amino acids: Synthetic strategies and applications as glycomimetics and peptidomimetics

In order to meet the increasing demands for the development of large varieties of new molecules for discovering new drugs and materials, organic chemists are developing many novel multifunctional building blocks, which are assembled rationally to create ‘nature-like’ and yet unnatural organic molecules with well-defined structures and useful properties. Sugar amino acids (SAAs), the carbohydrate derivatives bearing both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups, are important ones of these multifunctional building blocks, which can be used to create novel materials with potential applications as glycomimetics and peptidomimetics. This review will focus on recent synthetic strategies of SAAs and their applications in creating large number of structurally diverse glycomimetics and peptidomimetics.

Cyclic comonomers for the synthesis of carboxylic acid and amine functionalized poly(L-lactic acid).

Degradable aliphatic polyesters such as poly(lactic acid) are widely used in biomedical applications, however, they lack functional moieties along the polymer backbone that are amenable for functionalization reactions or could be the basis for interactions with biological systems. Here we present a straightforward route for the synthesis of functional α-ω epoxyesters as comonomers for lactide polymerization. Salient features of these highly functionalized epoxides are versatility in functionality and a short synthetic route of less than four steps. The α-ω epoxyesters presented serve as a means to introduce carboxylic acid and amine functional groups into poly(lactic acid) polymers via ring-opening copolymerization.

Functionalized polyurethane applied for foodborne pathogen detection

Fast monitoring and control quality of food products become increasingly important for public health. Among foodborne pathogenic microorganisms, bacteria are the most common foodborne pathogens in which the currently used methods are time consuming, labour-intensive and costly. This work aims to develop a new biochip potentially used for an assessment of bacterial contamination on food product. An assessment for bacterial detection employs simple FTIR spectroscopic analysis with a complimentary surface characterization by SEM technique. The biochip based on carboxylic acid functionalized polyurethane (PU) film was synthesized for bacterial detection in particular Salmonella Typhimurium. The PU in this study was synthesized from the reaction of the alcohol groups of hydroxyl telechelic natural rubber based oligomer with the isocyanate groups of 2,4-toluene diisocyanate. The carboxylic acid functional group was incorporated into the PU chain by addition of dimethylol propionic acid as a chain extender during PU preparation. The PU film having different degree of carboxylic acid was explored for the detection of S. Typhimurium. The structural and morphological changes of the PU film after loading of the bacteria were successfully detected using ATR-FTIR and SEM, respectively. The PU film developed is considered a rapid tool for S. Typhimurium detection and has a potential application for rapid food control quality.

Silver-based hybrid materials from meta- or para-phosphonobenzoic acid: influence of the topology on silver release in water.

Three novel silver-based metal-organic frameworks materials, which were synthesized from either 3-phosphono or 4-phosphonobenzoic acid and silver nitrate, are reported. The novel hybrids were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions; the pH of the reaction media was controlled by adding different quantities of urea thereby producing different topologies. Compound 1 (Ag3(4-PO3-C6H4-COO)), synthesized in the presence of urea, exhibits a compact 3D structure in which both phosphonic acid and carboxylic acid functional groups are linked to the silver-based inorganic network. Compound 2 (Ag(4-PO3H-C6H4-COOH)), which was synthesized at lower pH (without urea), has a layered structure in which only the phosphonic acid functional groups from 4-phosphonobenzoic acid moieties are linked to the silver inorganic network; the carboxylic acid groups being engaged in hydrogen bonds. Finally, material 3 (Ag(3-PO3H-C6H4-COOH)) was synthesized from 3-phosphonobenzoic acid and silver nitrate without urea. This material 3 features a layered structure exhibiting carboxylic acid functional groups linked via hydrogen bonds in the interlayer space. After the full characterization of these materials (single X-ray structure, IR, TGA), their ability to release silver salts in aqueous environment was measured. Silver release, determined in aqueous solution by cathodic stripping voltammetry, shows that the silver release capacity of these materials is dependent on the topology of the hybrids. The more compact structure 1 is extremely stable in water with only trace levels of silver ions being detected. On the other hand, compounds 2 and 3, in which only the phosphonic acid functional groups were bonded to the inorganic network, released larger quantities of silver ions into aqueous solution. These results which were compared with the silver release of the previously described compound 4 (Ag6(3-PO3-C6H4-COO)2). The results clearly show that the release capacity of silver-based metal organic framework can be tuned by modifying their topology which, in the present study, is governed by the regio-isomer of the organic precursor and the synthetic conditions under which the hybrids are prepared.

Oil–water emulsion separation using ultrafiltration membranes based on novel blends of poly(vinylidene fluoride) and amphiphilic tri-block copolymer containing carboxylic acid functional group

Amphiphilic tri-block copolymer (TBC) consisting of a central polystyrene block and two lateral polyacrylate-carboxylic acid blocks was successfully prepared by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) process using telechelic polystyrene as a macro-RAFT agent. Ultrafiltration membranes based on the blends of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and TBC were fabricated in the weight ratios of 95/5, 90/10 and 85/15 by solution casting and phase inversion process. The fabricated membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. Water contact angle measurement, permeate flux of bovine serum albumin solution, and filtration experiments including pure water permeation test, molecular weight cut-off test and oil–water emulsion filtration test were used to evaluate the wettability and anti-fouling properties of the membranes. The blend membranes exhibited higher flux and molecular weight cut off values when compared to the neat PVDF membrane. The high water permeability of the blend membranes may be attributed to the presence of porous skin layer with hydrophilic surface due to the presence of TBC. The flux recovery ratio (FRR) values for the permeation of BSA protein solution showed that the blend membranes (FRR=67–78%) possessed superior fouling resistance property than that of the neat PVDF membrane (FRR=57%). The blend membranes showed about 2.5 times higher water flux with ~99% oil rejection at 2bar operating pressure for the engine oil–water emulsion feed when compared to that of the neat PVDF membrane. A linear regression analysis of various fouling models involving both pore blocking and cake formation was performed for the membranes in the separation of oil–water emulsion.