Combined ‘spear and shield’: superhydrophilic antimicrobial and antifouling mesh membrane for efficient oil–water separation through facile and environmentally friendly strategy

Superhydrophilic stainless steel mesh membranes (SSMMs) with excellent antifouling, antimicrobial, and filtration performance, based on three-layer architecture, have been successfully prepared by a facile and environmentally friendly strategy. The superhydrophilic terpolymer poly(DMHB-SPP-HEA), denoted as PDSH, was synthesized through aqueous solution polymerization. PDSH-coated SSMMs (PDSH-SSMMs) were achieved by successive dip-coating of the commercial SSMMs into polyvinyl alcohol, divinyl sulfone (DVS), and PDSH solutions. The DVS layer and PDSH solution were crosslinked through DVS chemistry to enhance the hydrophilicity and provide a number of unique properties, such as antimicrobial activity, antifouling ability, and oil–water separation capability. Two different PDSH-SSMMs, PDSH0 - SSMM and PDSH5 - SSMM, were prepared and characterized using FTIR, SEM, and contact angle measurement (CAM). The antimicrobial activity, bovine serum albumin (BSA) fouling, and oil–water separation performance were evaluated simultaneously. The results indicate that PDSH0-SSMM is an excellent oil–water separation membrane for long-term separation, together with its extra antimicrobial and antifouling properties. It is promising for the industrialization of multi-functional membranes through this facile and environmentally friendly strategy.