Preparation and characterization of layered membranes constructed by sequential redox‐initiated grafting onto polyacrylonitrile ultrafiltration membranes

Layered membranes were prepared by sequential grafting—by means of redox initiators—of water‐soluble monomers, with oppositely charged ionic groups, onto ultrafiltration (UF) polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membranes at room temperature. Grafting of a single layer of 2‐hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) onto a PAN membrane gave a highly grafted membrane with a relatively high water flux. Bilayered membranes with various properties containing poly‐2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (p‐2DMAEMA) as the bottom layer and polymethacrylic acid or polystyrenesulfonic acid (p‐SSA) as the upper layer were prepared and compared—by means of infrared spectroscopy and electron microscopy—with single‐layered membranes of grafted polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate. Layered membranes exhibited a significant decline in water flux in comparison with the initial UF membranes. The flux could, however, be manipulated by controlling the concentration of monomers, the time of grafting, and the number of layers. When four layers of p‐2DMAEMA and p‐SSA were sequentially grafted onto a PAN membrane, pure water fluxes were stable over a wide range of pH values and did not change over long storage times. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 509–520, 2005     

Surface modification of poly(ether sulfone) ultrafiltration membranes by low‐temperature plasma‐induced graft polymerization

Low‐temperature helium plasma treatment followed by grafting of N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NVP) onto poly(ether sulfone) (PES) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes was used to modify commercial PES membranes. Helium plasma treatment alone and post‐NVP grafting substantially increased the surface hydrophilicity compared with the unmodified virgin PES membranes. The degree of modification was adjusted by plasma treatment time and polymerization conditions (temperature, NVP concentration, and graft density). The NVP‐grafted PES surfaces were characterized by Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis. Plasma treatment roughened the membrane as measured by atomic‐force microscopy. Also, using a filtration protocol to simulate protein fouling and cleaning potential, the surface modified membranes were notably less susceptible to BSA fouling than the virgin PES membrane or a commercial low‐protein binding PES membrane. In addition, the modified membranes were easier to clean and required little caustic to recover permeation flux. The absolute and relative permeation flux values were quite similar for the plasma‐treated and NVP‐grafted membranes and notably higher than the virgin membrane. The main difference being the expected long‐term instability of the plasma treated as compared with the NVP‐grafted membranes. These results provide a foundation for using low‐temperature plasma‐induced grafting on PES with a variety of other molecules, including other hydrophilic monomers besides NVP, charged or hydrophobic molecules, binding domains, and biologically active molecules such as enzymes and ribozymes. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 72: 1699–1711, 1999     

Improving the hydrophilicity of polyethersulfone membrane by the combination of grafting technology and reverse thermally induced phase separation method

In this work, surface grafting modification technology was combined with reverse thermally induced phase separation (RTIPS) method in order to improve the structure and permanent hydrophilicity of polyethersulfone (PES) membranes. Acrylic solution with different concentrations was grafted on the surface of PES membranes while grafting temperature and grafting time were also varied. The modified PES membranes were characterized in all aspects. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform-infrared confirmed successful modification of the PES membrane by grafting acrylic acid. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that homogeneous porous top surface as well as spongy-like cross-section structure appeared in the membrane by RTIPS procedure. Moreover, porosity was affected by changes of acrylic acid concentration, grafting temperature, and grafting time. Atomic force microscopy showed that grafting acrylic acid gave a reduction in roughness of PES membrane. Combined with the decreased values of contact angle, the hydrophilicity and antifouling performance of the PES membrane were improved. The pure water flux and BSA rejection rate of the grafted PES membranes were remarkably improved for pure PES membrane and attained a maximum, which was 1,646.24 L/(m²h) and 94.5%, respectively. The long-term test demonstrated that grafting membranes exhibited outstanding elevated water flux recovery ratio (>85%).     

PAN超滤膜的常压介质阻挡放电等离子体亲水改性

利用常压介质阻挡放电（DBD）等离子体技术,在非对称聚丙烯腈（PAN）超滤膜的表面接枝含有亲水基团的丙烯酸（AA）和聚乙二醇甲基丙烯酸酯（PEG360OHMA）,采用衰减全反射傅立叶变换红外光谱仪（ATR-FTIR）、水接触角测定仪和扫描电镜（SEM）表征膜的表面性质,牛血清蛋白（BSA）溶液过滤实验考察膜的抗生物污染性能。结果表明,常压DBD等离子体亲水改性的超滤膜具有良好的抗生物污染性能。     

Poly(arylene sulfide sulfone) hybrid ultrafiltration membrane with TiO2‐g‐PAA nanoparticles: Preparation and antifouling performance

Poly(arylene sulfide sulfone) (PASS) is a kind of newly developed polymeric membrane material which has excellent mechanical strength, thermal stability, and solvent resistance. And, it would be a potential material for high temperature ultrafiltration and organic solvent filtration. In this article, PASS hybrid ultrafiltration membrane with improved antifouling property was prepared by mixing TiO₂ nanoparticles which were grafted with polyacrylic acid (PAA). These membranes were prepared by a phase inversion technique and their separation performance and antifouling property of the prepared membranes were investigated in detail by SEM, FTIR, EDS, contact angle goniometry, filtration experiments of water, and BSA solution. The results shown that the TiO₂‐g‐PAA nanoparticles dispersed well in membrane matrix, the hydrophilicity of the membranes prepared within TiO₂‐g‐PAA nanoparticles have been improved and these membranes exhibited excellent water flux and antifouling performance in separation than that of the pure PASS membranes and PASS membranes with TiO₂ nanoparticles. More specifically, among membrane sample M0, M1.5, and MP1.5, MP1.5 which contained 1.5 wt% TiO₂‐g‐PAA exhibited the highest water permeation (190.4 L/m² h at 100 kPa), flux recovery ratio, and the lowest BSA adsorption amount. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:2829–2837, 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Fouling control in a submerged membrane‐bioreactor by the membrane surface modification

To improve the antifouling characteristics, polypropylene microporous membranes (PPHFMMs) were surface‐modified by the sequential photoinduced graft polymerization of acrylic acid and acrylamide. The grafting density and the grafting chain length, which played important roles in the antifouling characteristics, were controlled in the first and the second step, respectively. The ATR/FTIR results clearly indicated the successful modification on the membrane surface. The static water contact angle of the modified membrane reduced obviously with the increase of the grafting chain length. The contact angle of the acrylic acid modified membranes was lower than that of the acrylamide modified membrane with similar grafting chain length. The grafting chain length increased with the increase of UV irradiation time and monomer concentration. The grafting chain length of poly(acrylic acid) (PAAc) was lower than that of the polyacrylamide (PAAm) under the same polymerization conditions. Pure water flux for the modified membranes increased with the increase of grafting chain length, and had maximums. The antifouling characteristics of the modified membranes in a submerged membrane‐bioreactor (SMBR) were evaluated. The modified membranes showed better filtration performances in the SMBR than the unmodified membrane, and the acrylic acid grafted membrane presented better antifouling characteristics than acrylamide modified membranes. The results demonstrated that the surface carboxyl‐containing membranes were better than the surface amido‐containing membranes. The results of Pearson correlations demonstrated that the PAAc modified membranes with longer grafting chain length had higher flux recoveries, while the PAAm modified membranes with longer grafting chain length had lower flux recoveries. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Antifouling performance of poly(acrylonitrile)-based membranes: From green synthesis to application

In order to develop clean ultrafiltration membranes able to prevent the fouling of biological compounds in filtration processes, poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate (PEGA) was grafted to poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) by free-radical polymerization in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) and the grafted copolymer was blended with PAN to fabricate porous membranes using scCO₂-induced phase inversion method. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis, ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) confirmed that the poly(acrylonitrile)-graft-poly(ethylene oxide) (PAN-g-PEO) was successfully synthesized, for the first time, in scCO₂. The effect of increasing PEGA content on the initial monomer feed mixture on graft polymer morphology and average molecular weight was studied. Blended membranes with different PEGA contents were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mercury porosimetry and dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA) to characterize their morphological, physico-chemical and mechanical properties. Moreover, water contact angle measurements, pure water permeability and filtration experiments were performed to evaluate membrane hydrophilicity and fouling resistance properties. Permeation experiments of model foulants, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and starch solutions were used to investigate antifouling character of blend membranes at different pHs. PAN:PAN-g-PEO (70:30) showed to be the ultrafiltration membrane with best performance. Furthermore, comparing with conventional technologies blended membranes of PAN:PAN-g-PEO prepared by a scCO₂-assisted process showed enhanced hydrophilicity, larger protein and starch solution permeabilities and good resistance to irreversible fouling, indicating that the technology is an efficient process to prepare fouling resistant membranes for biomacromolecule separations.     

Self-doped sulfonated polyaniline ultrafiltration membranes with enhanced chlorine resistance and antifouling properties

Membranes heavily rely on chlorination to diminish (bio)fouling, but chlorination can also lead to membrane degradation. We developed sulfonated polyaniline (S-PANI) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes with improved chlorine resistance and intrinsic antifouling properties. The S-PANI membranes were synthesized through Non-solvent Induced Phase Separation (NIPS). Membrane performance was evaluated under harsh chlorine conditions (250 ppm sodium hypochlorite for 3 days under different pH conditions). The S-PANI membranes showed improved chlorine resistance including a stable performance without changes in model foulant BSA rejection. In contrast, PANI membranes suffered critical structural damage with complete leakage and commercial PES membranes showed a 76% increase in pure water flux and a noticeable change in BSA rejection. Small changes in S-PANI membrane performance could be linked to membrane structural changes with pH, as confirmed by SEM, IR spectroscopy, and contact angle measurements. Additionally, the S-PANI membranes showed better antifouling properties with a high flux recovery ratio in comparison to PANI membranes using alginic acid, humic acid, and BSA model foulants. Chemical cleaning by sodium hypochlorite re-instated the transport properties to its initial condition. Overall, the developed S-PANI membranes have a high chlorine tolerance and enhanced antifouling properties making them promising for a range of UF membrane applications.     

Hydrophilic Modification of PVDF Microfiltration Membrane with Poly (Ethylene Glycol) Dimethacrylate through Surface Polymerization

The hydrophilic modification of poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane with poly (ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) through grafting reaction for antifouling was reported. The influence of PEGDMA content, reaction temperature and time, on the structure, morphology, antifouling, and hydrophilicity of PVDF-g-PEGDMA membrane has been investigated. The PEGDMA monomers that were grafted on the surface of PVDF microfiltration membrane were confirmed by Attenuation total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and morphology study conducted by SEM revealed the changes before and after modification. The protein adsorption, filtration performance, water content, and dynamic contact angle were used to characterize the antifouling and hydrophilicity of the modified PVDF membranes. Compared with the pristine PVDF membrane, the bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption on the PVDF-g-PEGDMA membrane decreased about 80%, and the water contact angle of the membrane dropped to 0°. Besides, the experimental results revealed no significant differences between the membrane samples with respect to pore size.     

Pore morphology control and hydrophilicity of polyacrylonitrile ultrafiltration membranes

The effects of different solvents (dimethyl formamide: DMF and dimethylsulfoxide: DMSO) on the solubility of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were investigated by the phase diagrams of H₂O/DMF/PAN and H₂O/DMSO/PAN ternary systems through cloud‐point titration method at low polymer concentration. The influences of polymer concentrations and temperatures on the morphologies of PAN ultrafiltration membranes were elucidated. The morphologies of fabricated UF membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM), and the basic performance of ultrafiltration including pure water flux and rejection of BSA were explored. At 25°C, the pure water flux of ultrafiltration membranes at the lower PAN content (16 wt % PAN in 84 wt % DMSO) reached 213.8 L/m/bar and the rejection of BSA was 100%. Interestingly, the water flux of UF membranes dramatically decreased to 20.6 L/m/bar (20 wt %) and 2.9 L/m/bar (24 wt %) when increasing PAN concentrations in DMSO. On the other hand, the hydrophilicity of membranes can be enhanced by increasing coagulation temperatures and polymer concentrations which were characterized by static contact angle, fitting well with the variation tendency of roughness. Although there are many works concerning on the effects of phase inversion conditions on the performance of PAN UF membranes, to our best knowledge, there is seldom works focusing on investigating the membrane hydrophilicity trend by adjusting phase inversion conditions. To disclose the reason of the enhanced hydrophilicity, the water and glycol contact angles of various membranes were measured and the surface tensions were presented. The results illustrated that the enhanced hydrophilicity of PAN UF membranes fabricated at higher temperatures or higher polymer concentrations was due to the higher polarity on membrane surface. Since the vast majority of ultrafiltration membranes in labs and in industrial scale have been fabricated by immersion phase inversion method, this work can provide a guidance to obtain hydrophilic PAN UF membranes by adjusting the process of phase inversion. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41991.     

聚丙烯腈超滤膜的制备

为了得到高性能的超滤膜,采用相转化法,以聚丙烯腈(PAN)为原料,N-甲基-吡咯烷酮(NMP)为溶剂,制备了聚丙烯腈超滤膜.采用纯水通量以及膜对牛血清蛋白(BSA)的截留率作为评价标准,并使用扫描电镜对膜结构进行表征.研究了聚合物质量分数、添加剂种类、凝胶浴温度、凝胶浴种类对膜性能的影响.研究发现:在一定范围内提高聚合...     

Nano SiO2 and TiO2 embedded polyacrylonitrile/polyvinylidene fluoride ultrafiltration membranes: Improvement in flux and antifouling properties

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes are widely used in drinking water and wastewater applications. These membranes are prone to fouling and membrane efficiency decreases with time under constant operation. Significant improvements/modifications are necessary to apply these polymers as sustainable membrane materials. In this study, PVDF and PAN UF membranes were modified through incorporation of nanoparticles (NPs) namely SiO₂ and TiO₂. PVDF and PAN UF membranes were prepared by phase inversion method from polymer solutions having dispersed SiO₂ and TiO₂ NPs in it. Membrane surface hydrophilicity, charge, roughness, and morphology were studied. Equilibrium water content and molecular weight cut-off of the membranes were also measured. Addition of NPs increased membrane surface hydrophilicity, equilibrium water content, and surface potential. NPs modified membranes exhibited better membrane flux (35–79% higher) and antifouling properties (flux recovery ratio values 28–41% higher) than the virgin membranes.     

紫外键联马来酸酐表面改性聚丙烯腈超滤膜

采用紫外光法将马来酸酐（MAH）单体键联到聚丙烯腈（PAN）超滤膜表面,考察了紫外光强度、辐射时间、光敏剂浓度以及单体浓度对MAH反应率的影响。采用衰减全反射-傅里叶红外光谱（ATR /FT-IR）、扫描电镜（SEM）和水接触角（CA）对改性膜和原膜进行表征,结果表明单体MAH已成功键联到PAN膜表面,膜表面的亲水性得到提高。蛋白质静态污染以及超滤实验表明马来酸酐键联改性对PAN膜水通量影响不大,但抗污染性能得到明显提高,且由于MAH含有酸酐基团,使PAN膜的可反应性大大提高,使PAN膜易于进一步改性。     

聚醚砜／壳聚糖共混耐污染超滤膜的研制

采用相转化法,以聚醚砜（PES）、壳聚糖、聚乙二醇400（PEG400）、吐温80和LiCl／N,N-二甲基乙酰胺（DMAo）混合溶剂为原料制备聚醚砜／壳聚糖共混耐污染超滤膜。并对影响超滤膜结构和性能的各个因素进行了研究。结果表明．在壳聚糖质量分数为0．3％、反应温度为80℃条件下制备的聚醚砜／壳聚糖共混耐污染超滤膜性能最优。在25℃、0．1MPa操作条件下,膜的纯水通量为745．22（L／m2·h）,牛血清白蛋白截留率为91．79％。改性后的超滤膜表面接触角为74．6°,阻力增大系数为0．54,通量衰减速度小于未改性超滤膜,亲水性能和耐污染性能得到很大提高。     

Morphological effects of spherical SiO2 and hexagonal mesoporous MCM-41 nanoparticles in polyacrylonitrile mixed matrix membranes on the biofouling mitigation in short-term filtration

In this study, the morphology of the nanostructures is evaluated on the surface characterization and performance of the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ultrafiltration mixed matrix membranes (MMM). To this end, silica nanoparticles (NPs) such as spherical (SiO₂) and hexagonal mesoporous (MCM-41) with high hydrophilicity were incorporated at 0.5, 1, and 2 wt%. Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared analysis illustrated the placement of NP on the surface of the MMM. Atomic force microscopy studies also showed that SiO₂ NP added to PAN exhibited a smoother surface than MCM-41 NP. Field-emission scanning electron microscope analysis of the MMM identified that all membranes are composed of a finger-like porous structure. Contact angle measurements indicate that the morphology of the NPs has no significant effect on MMM hydrophilicity. Moreover, the performance of the MMM was evaluated, and regardless of NP morphology, the MMM showed better permeate flux with increased loading. A higher pure water flux was observed in the PAN-MCM41-1% membrane (237 L/m² h), possibly because of inherent porosity and high hydrophilicity of MCM-41 compared to SiO₂ NP. Further, the PAN-SiO₂-1% membrane exhibited superior antifouling properties due to a lower surface roughness. The present studies reveal that the morphology of the NP greatly influence on the structure, permeation, and antifouling properties of PAN membranes.     

Surface modification of polypropylene microporous membrane by grafting acrylic acid using physisorbed initiators method

Surface modification of microporous polypropylene (PP) membrane was performed by graft polymerization of acrylic acid using physisorbed initiators method. The factors effecting on the grafting degree such as monomer concentration, reaction temperature and initiator density were determined. The morphological and microstructure changes of the membrane were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The pure water contact angle, protein adsorbed amount, water flux, and antifouling property of the grafted membrane were investigated. The results indicated that the pore size and porosity of the grafted membrane were reduced and the static contact angle of pure water on the grafted membrane decreased from 108° to 40° with the increase of grafting degree. The amount of protein adsorbed on the grafted membrane decreased about 30% compared to the virgin polypropylene membrane when the grafting degree was 18.71%. Though the water flux reduced, the flux recovery of the grafted membrane increased 82.66% with the grafting degree 16.0%. The hydrophilic and antifouling property of the grafted membrane also were improved. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Amphiphilic poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐acrylic acid)/silver nanocomposite additives for the preparation of antibiofouling membranes with improved properties

This work focuses the preparation of polymer‐silver nanocomposite (Ag‐Nc) dense free standing films and nonwoven fabric supported porous ultrafiltration membranes with improved membrane performance and long‐term antibiofouling properties. New polyacrylonitrle‐based Ag‐Ncs, poly(acrylonitrle‐co‐acrylic acid)‐silver (PAN‐co‐PAA‐Ag) containing 35 wt% of PAA and 0.35–0.65 wt% of Ag‐nanoparticles (Nps) were synthesized and used as additives for the fabrication of PAN‐based (PAN/PAN‐co‐PAA‐Ag) Ag‐Nc porous membranes and dense‐free standing films. The Ag‐Nps were homogeneously dispersed into the PAN‐co‐PAA random copolymer matrix. The prepared membranes (PAN/PAN‐co‐PAA‐Ag) showed combination of properties such as excellent antimicrobial activity towards both Gram Negative and Gram Positive bacteria (prevent biofilm formation), improved protein antifouling properties, and enhanced water flux when compared to neat PAN‐based membrane. The antimicrobial properties, hydrophilicity, and the water flux of various membranes follow the following order for the membranes PAN < PAN/PAN‐co‐PAA < PAN/PAN‐co‐PAA‐Ag. Extraneous addition of small amount of polyethylene glycol (PEG) during preparation of additive i.e. [PEG + PAN‐co‐PAA]‐Ag further improved the protein antifouling properties of the PAN‐based membranes (PAN/[PEG+PAN‐co‐PAA‐Ag]). The dispersed Ag‐Nps were stable on the surface of phase inverted membranes for long period of time and PAN/PAN‐co‐PAA‐Ag membranes are therefore suitable for long‐term water treatment under bacterial environment. POLYM. COMPOS., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Cellulose acetate ultrafiltration membranes customized with copper oxide nanoparticles for efficient separation with antifouling behavior

Cellulose acetate (CA) nanocomposite ultrafiltration membranes are fabricated with copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles with the aim of improving efficient protein separation and antifouling performance. CuO nanoparticles are synthesized from cupric nitrate using a wet precipitation method and characterized by FTIR and XRD. CA/CuO nanocomposite membranes fabricated using 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 wt% of CuO nanoparticles individually by simple phase inversion technique. The CA nanocomposite membrane with 0.5 wt% of hydrophilic CuO exhibited enhanced PWF of 118.6 Lm⁻² h⁻¹ due to the improvement in porosity and water uptake. This is in good agreement with the enhanced hydrophilicity of the CA/CuO nanocomposite membranes results observed in surface contact angle and morphological investigations. Further, 95.5% of BSA separation and 94.7% of flux recovery ratio (FRR) indicates its superior antifouling potential caused due to the presence of the hydration layer at the CA/CuO membrane surface. Among all the fabricated membranes, the CA-0.5 nanocomposite membrane with 0.5 wt% of CuO exhibited superiorly improved hydrophilicity, water permeation, BSA separation, and antifouling performance indicates its potential use in water and wastewater treatment applications.     

Polyethersulfone-polyvinylpyrrolidone composite membranes:Effects of polyvinylpyrrolidone content and polydopamine coating on membrane morphology,structure and performances

Hydrophilic modification is a promising method to inhibit fouling formation on ultrafiltration membrane.In this work,different mass concentrations (1％-16％) of hydrophilic polyvinylpyrrolidone were incorpo-rated into polyethersulfone (PES) membranes fabricated by none-solvent induced phase separation.Then,polydopamine (PDA) coating on the surface of prepared membrane was carried out at pH 8.5.The mor-phology and structure,surface hydrophilicity,permeation flux,BSA rejection,antifouling and stability performances of PES and PDA/PES modified membranes were investigated in detail.The results indicated that PDA was successfully attached onto the membranes.Membrane hydrophilicity was evaluated by water contact angle measurement.The contact angles of modified membranes reduced remarkably,sug-gesting that the membrane hydrophilicities were significantly increased.The results of filtration tests,which were done by dead-end filtration of bovine serum albumin solution,showed that the properties of permeability and fouling resistance were obviously improved by PDA modification.When polyvinylpyrrolidone mass content reached 10％,flux recovery ratio of modified membrane was up to 91.23％,and its BSA rejection were over 70％.The results of stability tests showed that the modified mem-branes had good mechanical stability and chemical stability.This facile fabrication procedure and out-standing performances suggested that the modified membranes had a potential in treating fouling.     

Biofouling alleviation and flux enhancement of electrospun PAN microfiltration membranes by embedding of para‐aminobenzoate alumoxane nanoparticles

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) as a hybrid technology for wastewater treatment is becoming more popular for wastewater treatment. However, membrane fouling has hindered the widespread application of MBRs. Many efforts have been done for fouling mitigation. In this study, high flux and antifouling microfiltration membranes with unique surface structure, high surface porosity, and permeability were prepared by electrospinning technique. Initially, the optimum thickness of electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membranes was determined and then, electrospun PAN membrane at optimum thickness were prepared by embedding para‐aminobenzoate alumoxane (PABA) nanoparticles at different concentrations. The effect of PABA nanoparticles on membrane performance was investigated. To investigate the characterization of the prepared membranes Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, and water contact angle measurement were employed. The flux recovery ratio results revealed that the antifouling properties of the electrospun PAN membrane were enhanced by modification. The 3 wt % electrospun PABA embedded PAN had the best permeability, hydrophilicity, and antifouling properties among the fabricated membranes and showed remarkable reusability during filtration. The results obtained suggested that the high flux and antifouling electrospun PAN membranes embedded PABA nanoparticles could be used as MBR membranes. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45738.