Bio-inspired modification of superhydrophilic iPP membrane based on polydopamine and graphene oxide for highly antifouling performance and reusability

Abstract A novel superhydrophilic and underwater superolephobic isotactic polypropylene (iPP) @ polydopamine (PDA) @ graphene oxide (GO) hollow fiber membrane was firstly developed using a facile and eco-friendly process and evaluated for oil-water separation and antifouling properties. The iPP@PDA@GO membrane presented special micro-nano structure and outstanding superhydrophilicity (the water contact angle decreased from 120° to 0°) and underwater superolephobicty (the underwater contact angle increased upto 152°). In addition, the modified membrane exhibited wonderful surfactant-stabilized oil-water emulsions separation performance, including high oil-water permeation (188 L m−2h−1, 0.1 MPa) and superior oil rejection (>99%). indicating that the membrane had excellent antifouling performance and reusability.