The EMBR (MBR, attached with electric field) is effective in suppressing membrane fouling. In this paper, modified polyester cathode membranes were prepared by coating graphene (Gr)/polypyrrole (PPy) or graphene oxide (GO)/PPy, which had higher conductivity and better antifouling property in EMBR than the membrane modified with PPy only. The membrane modification using a vapor phase polymerization method (VPM) was proved better than using a liquid phase polymerization method (LPM). The modified membranes were tested and compared for antifouling performances in EMBR, by short time filtration of a yeast suspension, under 1 V/cm electric field. The VPM Gr/PPy modified membrane suppressed membrane fouling and increased the flux as high as 20%. The VPM Gr/PPy coating was more uniform and firm, and had higher conductivity (resistance lowered by 67%) than PPy modified membrane. It had better antifouling performance, smaller slopes in its t/V-V curves (adopting the classical cake filtration model, a suitable description for the membrane fouling process). By applying 1 V/cm electric field, an increase of 20% in the short-term cumulative permeate volume was obtained for the Gr/PPy modified membrane and it was only 10% for PPy modified membrane. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.