Synthesis of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes for protein binding: Effect of casting thickness

Microporous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes were synthesized from PVDF/N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone (NMP) solutions using an immersion–precipitation method with a 2‐propanol/water mixture as a soft coagulant. The effects of membrane thickness on pore size distribution and surface/cross‐section morphology were studied using capillary flow porometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. All the synthesized membranes had a small range of pore size distribution, with the pore size decreasing with increasing casting thickness. The semicrystalline PVDF membranes demonstrated significant variations in morphology under SEM observation, with the existence of polymer agglomeration at a casting thickness of 500 μm and above. The protein binding capacity was observed to be highest at a casting thickness of 400 μm, where optimum pore morphology provided a large surface area for protein binding. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013