Smart responsive materials have been attracting increasing interests in membrane separation field. Herein, we reported a new thermo-responsive membrane with interesting anti-fouling and self-cleaning properties. N-isopropylacrylamide grafted silica nanoparticles (SiO₂-PNIPAm) were synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and the obtained SiO₂-PNIPAm was incorporated into the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration (UF) membrane via blending method. The physicochemical properties of various modified membranes were thoroughly characterized. The SiO₂-PNIPAm incorporation can readily improve membrane hydrophilicity and the water permeation of PVDF membrane. The water flux cycling tests of PVDF/SiO₂-PNIPAm membranes were conducted by switching temperatures between 25 °C and 37 °C, demonstrating the unique thermo-responsible flux variation and excellent stability. The developed PVDF/SiO₂-PNIPAm membranes showed the enhanced flux recovery rate (FRR) and the decreased values in irreversible fouling ratios compared with that of pristine PVDF membrane. The continuous increase of the Bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption–desorption ratio indicated the exceptional self-cleaning property of PVDF/SiO₂-PNIPAm membranes with temperature switching around the lower critical solution temperature (LCST). Therefore, our thermo-responsive membrane with the anti-fouling and self-cleaning abilities has great potentials for membrane water treatment and can inspire the rapid development of smart materials towards environmental applications.

智能响应材料已在膜分离领域吸引了越来越多的兴趣。在此，我们报道了一种新型的热响应膜，具有令人感兴趣的防污和自清洁特性。通过原子转移自由基聚合（ATRP）合成了N-异丙基丙烯酰胺接枝的二氧化硅纳米粒子（SiO ₂ -PNIPAm），通过共混法将所得的SiO ₂ -PNIPAm掺入聚偏氟乙烯（PVDF）超滤膜中。彻底表征了各种改性膜的理化性质。SiO ₂ -PNIPAm的掺入可以容易地改善膜的亲水性和PVDF膜的水渗透性。PVDF / SiO ₂的水通量循环测试-PNIPAm膜是通过在25°C和37°C之间切换温度来进行的，证明了独特的热响应通量变化和出色的稳定性。与原始PVDF膜相比，已开发的PVDF / SiO ₂ -PNIPAm膜显示出更高的通量恢复率（FRR）和不可逆结垢率值降低。牛血清白蛋白（BSA）吸附-解吸比的持续增加表明PVDF / SiO ₂具有出色的自洁性能-PNIPAm膜的温度在较低的临界溶液温度（LCST）附近切换。因此，我们具有防污和自清洁能力的热敏膜具有膜水处理的巨大潜力，可以激发智能材料向环境应用的快速发展。