Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) is an attractive process for capturing renewable energy that requires high-performance and fouling-resistant membranes. Herein, we report a novel surface coating method that increases the water flux and organic fouling resistance of PRO membranes. The support layer of a commercial TFC was coated with TiO2 nanoparticles (TNPs) via a sol-gel-derived spray coating method. This TNP coating imparted hydrophilic properties and a negative charge to the membrane surface. A TNP-coated membrane (TNP1.0) showed a 25% increase in water flux and a 50% decrease in reverse salt flux. The flux reduction of the TNP membrane was 32% less than that of a commercial TFC membrane in the presence of humic acid foulants. This suggests that a high-performance and fouling resistant PRO membrane can be prepared using a TiO2 sol-gel-derived spray coating method. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.