Preparation and Characterization of PVDF/PVPylated-TiO2 Composite Membrane with Enhanced Antifouling Performance

Hydrophilic modification of polymeric membranes by employing TiO₂ nanoparticles has attracted much attention in enhancing antifouling performance. Micelles of PVPylated-TiO₂ nanoparticles were designed to alleviate the agglomeration of TiO₂ nanoparticles via steric hindrance and electrostatic stabilization effect. Herein, Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) was used as a surfactant to mitigate the thorny agglomeration of nanoparticles in the casting solution and simultaneously as a pore-forming additive during the membrane preparation process. The lowest backscattering (<i>BS</i>) peak and turbiscan stability index (<i>TSI</i>) of the composite casting solution indicated the effective dispersion and stabilization under the steric interaction of 4 wt.% PVP. Properties such as the fully developed finger-like structure of cross-sectional morphologies, water permeability, negative Zeta potential, and hydrophilicity were enhanced evidently by the optimal modification of PVPylated-TiO₂ materials. High interaction energy indicated by classic extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (XDLVO) theory as well as the high relative flux during the filtration of various model foulants demonstrated the effective antifouling modification. The results of critical flux and fouling rate in 30 min also verified the enhancement of the antifouling performance of PVDF/PVPylated-TiO₂ composite membrane. This work provides a feasible strategy to construct composite membranes with high antifouling performance for wastewater treatment.