One-pot cross-linked copolymerization for the construction of robust antifouling and antibacterial composite membranes

This study reports a highly efficient, convenient and universal protocol for the fabrication of robust antifouling and antibacterial polymeric membranes via one-pot cross-linked copolymerization of methyl acryloyloxygen ethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DMC) and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA). The infrared testing and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy gave obvious evidence that abundant DMC and PEGMA chains had enriched on the membrane surface. The surface and cross-sectional SEM images indicated that the addition of DMC and PEGMA had a little effect on the membrane roughness and inner structure. Meanwhile, the systematic investigations into the water contact angle, protein adsorption, ultrafiltration and bacterial inhibition indicated that the composite membranes showed improved hydrophilicity, decreased protein adsorption, increased water flux and antifouling property, as well as greatly enhanced antibacterial ability. Furthermore, it was found that the cross-linked copolymerization could further endow the composite membrane with multi-chemical properties, for instance the charged interface. As a model system, Ag nanoparticle-PDMC multilayers were coated onto the positively charged PES–DMC6 membranes via layer by layer assembly, and the successful surface coating confirmed their versatile ability and also provided a more effective and durable antibacterial coating to the composite membranes. All these results suggest that the robust antifouling and antibacterial composite membranes can be prepared via the proposed one-pot cross-linked copolymerization, and it is believed that this approach has great potential to be applied in various biomedical or industrial fields where antifouling and antibacterial properties are highly demanded.