Rapid deposition on polydopamine coated PVDF membranes with enhanced anti-protein and antiantibacterial performance for wastewater treatment

Ultrafiltration membrane fouling in chemical process especially for protein adhesion and bacterial attachment has become the biggest obstacle for its development. Mussel-inspired polydopamine (PDA) modification obtained more and more research to solve the above problem because of easily fabricating multifunctional coatings with various materials. Herein, a novel mussel-inspired anti-protein fouling membrane was prepared via co-deposition of PDA and polyethylene glycol (PEG), and Cu NPs was fixed by CuSO
4
/H
2
O
2
rapid deposition to improve its antibacterial performance. The surface elementary composition and morphologies of modified membranes were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The modified PVDF membranes were confirmed to have excellent hydrophilicity, enhanced coating stability, good anti-protein adhesion properties (both dynamic and static anti-protein adsorption). And the anti-antibacterial performance was increased with the incorporation of copper nanoparticles. This work provides a useful method for surface modification of PVDF membranes and suggests a time-saving fabrication of bio-inspired coatings for anti-fouling ultrafiltration membranes in wastewater treatment field.