Imitated Core-Shell Molecularly Imprinted Membranes for Selective Separation Applications: A Synergetic Strategy by Polydopamine and SiO₂

Development of high-efficiency separation materials with specific recognition sites has become an urgent and important task. Herein, a synergetic strategy based on polydopamine (pDA) and silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO₂) was successfully designed and developed for the preparation of imitated core-shell-based cloxacillin-imprinted nanocomposite membranes (ICCIMs-D/S). Cloxacillin (Col) was selected as the template resulting from the potential threat to environment and human health. As to the synthesis procedure of ICCIMs-D/S, the pDA-modified layers were uniformly loaded onto substrate membranes by developing an elevated phase transformation method. Based on it, the synergy processes of pDA and SiO₂ could be achieved on surface of porous membranes. The ICCIMs-D/S with Col-imprinted recognition sites were finally synthesized by the photo-initiated “mercapto-alkenes click chemistry” method using methacrylic acid as functional monomers. Notably, the satisfactory rebinding selectivity (α>4.0) and permselectivity (β>4.0) with outstanding regeneration performance (only 5.11% decrease after ten regeneration cycles) indicated the superior selectivity and stability of the as-obtained ICCIMs-D/S. The preparation strategy and ICCIMs-D/S developed in this work is expected to provide a feasible idea for selective separation of Col from wastewater.