Improved anti-organic fouling and antibacterial properties of PVDF ultrafiltration membrane by one-step grafting imidazole-functionalized graphene oxide

Highlights: • The Im-GO modified PVDF ultrafiltration membrane was firstly fabricated. • Membrane surface functionality was tailored by one-step grafting Im-GO. • The membrane showed good anti-organic fouling and antibacterial properties. • The antibacterial agent (Im-GO) was difficult to lose from the membrane. At present, membrane fouling is a thorny issue that limits the development of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite membrane, which seriously affects its separation performance and service lifespan. Herein, an imidazole-functionalized graphene oxide (Im-GO) with hydrophilicity and antibacterial performance was synthesized, and it was used as a modifier to improve the anti-organic fouling and antibacterial properties of PVDF membrane. The anti-organic fouling test showed that the maximum flux recovery ratios against bovine serum albumin and humic acid were 88.9% and 94.5%, respectively. Conspicuously, the grafted imidazole groups could effectively prevent the bacteria from growing on the membrane surface. It was gratifying that the antibacterial modifier Im-GO was almost not lost from the hybrid membranes even by the ultrasonic treatment, which was different from the conventional release-killing antibacterial agents. Owing to the long-term anti-organic fouling and antibacterial properties, Im-GO/PVDF hybrid membranes exhibit a great application potential in the fields of rough separation and concentration of biomedical products.