Novel anti-fouling PVDF-g-THFMA copolymer membrane fabricated via photoinduced Cu(II)-mediated reversible deactivation radical polymerization

In this study, we fabricated a novel anti-fouling poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane using a novel amphiphilic copolymer of PVDF grafted with tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate (PVDF-g-THFMA). This copolymer was synthesized via photoinduced Cu(II)-mediated reversible deactivation radical polymerization. The amphiphilic copolymer was characterized by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The morphology of the copolymer was examined using scanning electron microscopy. The permeability and hydrophilicity of the membranes were evaluated on the basis of their pure water flux and dynamic contact angles, respectively. The anti-fouling property of the membranes was evaluated by carrying out filtration using a bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution. The PVDF-g-THFMA copolymer membranes showed a pure flux of up to 293.9 L m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹ and a molecular weight cut off of 39.5 kDa. After the filtration of the BSA solution, the PVDF-g-THFMA copolymer membrane was washed with deionized water and the recovery ratio of the pure water flux reached a value of 89.1%. The modified membrane showed good filtration performance and anti-fouling property.