Anovelhydrophilicnanocompositeadditive(TiO2-g-PNIPAAm)wassynthesizedbythesurfacemodificationoftitaniumdioxide(TiO2)withN-isopropylacrylamide(NIPAAm)via"graft-from"technique.Andthenanocompositemembraneofpoly(vinylidenefluoride)(PVDF)/TiO2-g-PNIPAAmwasfabricatedbywetphaseinversion.Thegraftdegreewasobtainedbythermo-gravimetricanalysis(TGA).Fouriertransforminfraredattenuatedreflectionspectroscopy(FTIR-ATR)andX-rayphotoelectronicspectroscopy(XPS)characterizationresultssuggestedthatTiO2-g-PNIPAAmnanoparticlessegregatedonmembranesurfaceduringthephaseseparationprocess.Scanningelectronmicroscopy(SEM)wasconductedtoinvestigatethesurfaceandcross-sectionofthemodifiedmembranes.ThewatercontactanglemeasurementsconfirmedthatTiO2-g-PNIPAAmnanoparticlesendowedPVDFmembranesbetterhydrophlilicityandthermo-responsivepropertiescomparedwiththoseofthepristinePVDFmembrane.Thewatercontactangledecreasedfrom92.8°ofthePVDFmembraneto61.2°ofthenanocompostiemembrane.Bovineserumalbumin(BSA)staticanddynamicadsorptionexperimentssuggestedthatexcellentantifoulingpropertiesofmembraneswasacquiredafteraddingTiO2-gPNIPAAm.ThemaximumBSAadsorptionat40°Cwasabout3timesthanthatat23°C.ThepermeationexperimentsindicatedthewaterfluxrecoverratioandBSArejectionratiowereimprovedatdifferenttemperatures.
