A new anti-biofouling microfiltration: Combining sharkskin-inspired topology with in-situ silver nanoparticles

Abstract

Recently, significant research has been undertaken to address drinking and wastewater treatment, food and beverage manufacturing, and the pharmaceutical industry in a sustainable and advanced manner. Contemporary microfiltration systems demonstrate notable efficacy in achieving high-precision separation for the products of these processes; however, they are profoundly susceptible to biofouling, which involves the accumulation of proteins and microorganisms, ultimately leading to a deterioration in separation performance. Here, we introduce the fabrication of a multifunctional anti-biofouling microfiltration membrane comprising a high-fidelity sharkskin-inspired pattern, anti-adhesive, and biocidal surface. Additionally, passive (e.g., pattern and negatively charged surface) and active (e.g., Ag nanoparticle) anti-biofouling features are spontaneously introduced through non-solvent induced phase separation and consecutive mild alkali treatment. The resulting membrane demonstrates a 188 % reduction in the accumulation of bovine serum albumin and exhibits a long-lasting biocidal effect without compromising separation performance.