Synthesis of polydopamine‐mediated PP hollow fibrous membranes with good hydrophilicity and antifouling properties

Membrane fouling remains a major barrier to membrane separation, particularly obvious in polymer membranes. Dopamine (DA) is of great value as a precursor for conjugation hydrophilic molecules. In this study, PP hollow fibrous membranes were first modified by DA to form a layer of polydopamine (PDA) coating. Then taurine and glycidol were introduced respectively with assisted by PDA reactive layer, the prepared membranes corresponding to PP‐T and PP‐G membranes, respectively. PP and the modified PP membranes were confirmed by a thorough membrane characterization of ATR‐FTIR, XPS, and FESEM measurements. The hydrophilic properties and permeability were measured by water contact angle (WCA) and permeation flux test. BSA was used to as model protein to evaluate the antifouling properties of the membranes. The results showed that taurine and glycidol were successfully introduced onto the membrane surface. The WCA of PP‐T and PP‐G membranes can be reduced to 32° and 26°, and the flux recovery ratio increased around 90.6% and 89.8%, respectively. Based on the experimental results, taurine and glycidol effectively improved the hydrophilic and anti‐fouling performance of PP membrane. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44430.