Antibacterial thin film nanocomposite forward osmosis membranes produced by in-situ reduction of selenium nanoparticles

Abstract

In this study, we present a facile method for the in-situ reduction of selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs) on a thin-film composite forward osmosis (FO) membrane. As an essential nutrient, Se is superior in terms of both low off-target toxicity and application potential. Given the superiority of Se, this study explored the application of Se NPs in the field of FO membrane separation and water treatment. In this study, Se NPs were evenly distributed on the polyamide layer of thin film nanocomposite (TFN) FO membranes and were found to significantly improve the hydrophilicity of the membrane surface and reduce the zeta potential value. Moreover, the water flux increased from 14.0 L m−2 h -1 (TFC FO) to 16.6 L m−2 h -1 (1 wt% Se TFN FO), while a slight increase in the reverse salt flux was observed. The diffusion inhibition zone tests revealed distinct antibacterial effects, and the bacteriostatic rate (BR) and live and dead cell staining tests showed a high BR (100 % of 1.5 wt% Se) of the Se NP-modified membranes on both gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus). Thus, Se NPs as antibacterial agents offer a new option for membrane functionalization and water treatment.