Fabrication of protein-resistant blend based on PVDF-HFP and amphiphilic brush copolymer made from PMMA and PEGMA

Polymeric blends provide a facile route to obtaining materials with various synergistic properties arising from the individual components. Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP), a hydrophobic polymer, is finding new applications in polymer electrolytes, membranes, and heat-resistant structural materials owing to its high thermal stability, mechanical strength, and weatherability. In this report, blends of PVDF-HFP and polymer brush were prepared with enhanced water uptake and protein resistance, which are important requirements for membranes used in food and biological applications. Polymer brush is composed of poly(methyl methacrylate) main chains, which are miscible with PVDF-HFP, and hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) brush chains. Incorporation of PEG chains through the polymer brush structure not only enhanced water uptake and protein adsorption resistance but also produced a well-distributed morphology of the blending components through the matrix as evidenced by observation of the morphology after selective extraction of polymer brush from the matrix.