Improved surface hydrophilicity and antifouling property of polysulfone ultrafiltration membrane with poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate grafted graphene oxide nanofillers

•The GO-g-P(PEGMA) nanofillers were synthesized for the first time using surface initiate atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) method.•A novel hydrophilic and antifouling polysulfone ultrafiltration membrane with GO-g-P(PEGMA) as nanofiller was prepared.•The prepared nanocomposite membranes (PSF/GO-g-P(PEGMA)) showed better separation and antifouling performance than the control membranes (PSF/GO).•The blending GO-g-P(PEGMA) nanofillers stably existed in/on the prepared nanocomposite membranes even after 30days of washing time.