Mimetic-core-shell design on molecularly imprinted membranes providing an antifouling and high-selective surface

Selective separation of CFX achieved by CIMs with mimetic-core–shell design. [Display omitted] •Mimetic-core–shell design was developed on ciprofloxacin-imprinted membranes.•Enhanced antifouling property was achieved by β-cyclodextrin/PVDF envelope.•Selectivity was provided by imprinted sites based on thiol-ene click reaction.•Visual simulation was employed for an in-depth investigation of mechanisms. Molecularly imprinted membranes (MIMs) developed from membrane separation technology and molecularly imprinting technology have shown great advantages in water treatment, drug extraction and biochemical separation. Inspired by superiority of core–shell structure onto nanomaterials, the mimetic-core–shell design on MIMs would possess both properties of substrate (core) and molecularly imprinted polymers (shell). In this work, a mimetic-core–shell structure was carried out on ciprofloxacin-imprinted membranes (CIMs) for the supplement of antifouling and high-selective surface. (i) Antifouling performance was enhanced based on β-cyclodextrin by forming the supramolecular envelope system with the substrate. (ii) Selectivity was provided by CFX-imprinted sites on the embedded secondary platform (polydopamine). As a result, impressive rebinding selectivity (αCFX/NFX = 3.47, αCFX/EFX = 3.91 and αCFX/OFX = 5.42) and permselectivity (βNFX/CFX = 1.57, βEFX/CFX = 1.68 and βOFX/CFX = 1.83) with stable regeneration performance were achieved on optimal CIMs (M4-CIMs). The structure-performance relationship of CIMs were explored by chemical and morphology analyzation. Visual-simulative method was included for a detail and in-depth investigation of sites formation and selective recognition mechanisms. Importantly, results from dead-end filtration of semi-practical samples reveals the potential availability of mimetic-core–shell CIMs for selective separation applications.