Enhanced antifouling performance of hybrid PVDF ultrafiltration membrane with the dual-mode SiO2-g-PDMS nanoparticles

• Dual-mode nanoparticles were fabricated for hybrid.
• Hybrid PVDF membranes exhibit fouling repulsion and release properties.
• Hybrid PVDF membranes exhibit improved antifouling ability.

The polydimethylsiloxane modified silica (SiO2-g-PDMS) nanoparticles with hydrophilic core and hydrophobic shell are employed for the hybridization modification of PVDF ultrafiltration membrane to improve the separation and antifouling performances. The results suggest the modified SiO2-g-PDMS nanoparticles exhibit improved dispersion and significant amphiphilic characteristics, and the wetting properties of membrane surface and mimetic matrix of hybrid PVDF membranes are distinctly different with the contact angle values at 105° and 15°, respectively. In addition, the added SiO2-g-PDMS nanoparticles significantly improve the fouling repulsion and fouling release properties of hybrid PVDF membranes, the anti-adsorption ability and water flux recovery ratio (FRR-W) of hybrid PVDF membranes to the two typical pollutants of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and humic acid (HA) have been significantly improved. This article aims to provide a simple way to improve the antifouling performance of PVDF ultrafiltration membrane with dual-mode multi-functional modifier.