Achieving antibiofouling on microporous membranes prepared with a green solvent via spraying an aqueous antifouling copolymer solution

• Published in: Journal of membrane science 2025-02, Vol.715, p.123499, Article 123499
• Main Authors: Lazo, Trisha Nicole, Maggay, Irish Valerie, Tayo, Lemmuel, Chang, Yung, Venault, Antoine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antifouling; Microfiltration; PVDF membrane; Spray-coating; γ-valerolactone
• ISSN: 0376-7388
• DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2024.123499

This study highlights a comprehensive investigation into the fabrication and characterization of sustainable membranes for antifouling applications. It utilizes γ-valerolactone as a green solvent to obtain microfiltration polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes, and leverages spray-coating technique to modify these membranes. This research aims to enhance the surface and bulk properties of PVDF membranes while promoting sustainable practices. Chemical analyses of the membranes reveal that the surface and bulk of the membranes were successfully modified. Dynamic water contact angle measurements indicated that a 10 mg/mL coating solution (PVDF_10) resulted in the highest hydrophilicity. Different biofouling tests were conducted using proteins and bacteria. In adhesion tests with BSA, and E. coli, the PVDF_10 membrane demonstrated the highest resistance, reducing adhesion by approximately 83 % and 94 %, respectively. Additionally, cyclical water/bacterial filtration tests demonstrated that PVDF_10 membrane achieved a higher flux recovery ratio compared to commercial hydrophilic PVDF membranes. The modification remained stable even after 6 weeks of immersion in water. This study highlights the potential of γ-GVL and the spray-coating technique as environmentally friendly solvents and modification techniques for producing green antifouling PVDF membranes, aligning with sustainable practices and significantly enhancing membrane performance. [Display omitted] •γ-Valerolactone is utilized to fabricate environmentally friendly antifouling PVDF membranes.•Surface and bulk of the membranes are effectively modified using a spray-coating technique.•Coating stability is maintained even after 6 weeks of immersion in water.•Strong resistance to protein and bacterial adhesion is demonstrated by the spray-coated PVDF membrane.