Preparation and anti-fouling property of carboxybetaine-based zwitterionic PVDF membrane

This work describes the synthesis and anti-fouling properties of poly(vinylidene fluoride) membrane, grafted with carboxybetaine-based zwitterions. An amphiphilic copolymer, poly(vinylidene fluoride)-graft- poly(N,N-dimethylamino-2-ethylmethacrylate) (PVDF-g-PDMAEMA), was synthesized by radical graft copolymerization, followed by casting the copolymer into a flat membrane, by an immersed phase inversion method. PVDF-g-PDMAEMA membrane was reacted with sodium chloroacetate (SCA) to yield a carboxybetaine-based zwitterionic surface. The membrane showed significantly enhanced hydrophilicity, due to the hydration ability of carboxybetaine-based zwitterions, which inhibited protein adsorption. Compared to pristine PVDF-g-PDMAEMA membrane, carboxybetaine-based zwitterionic membrane exhibited a higher flux recovery in the cyclic filtration.