Abstract
Biofouling is one of the drawbacks restricting the industrial applications of membranes. In this study, different thicknesses of silver nanoparticles with proper adhesion were deposited on poly(vinylidenefluoride) (PVDF) and polyethersulfone (PES) surfaces by physical vapor deposition (PVD). The crystalline and structural properties of modified and pure membranes were investigated by carrying out X-ray diffraction (XRD) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses were employed to examine the surface morphology and the bacteria anti-adhesion property of the membranes. The morphology measurements confirmed that even though after silver grafting the surface became more hydrophobic, the homogeneity increased and the flux reduction decreased after coating. Moreover a comparison between PVDF and PES revealed that CFU (colony forming units) reduced 64.5% on PVDF surface and 31.1% on PES surface after modification. In conclusion, PVD improved the performance of the membrane antibiofouling, and it is more promising to be used for PVDF rather than PES.
Highlights
Membrane separation technology has been widely used in water desalination and wastewater treatment [1,2]
Irreversible deposition and growth of microbial cells lead to biofilm formation, which will be hard to remove if enclosed in the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) matrix [6,7]
The nAg0 was coated on the membranes surface through a physical vapor deposition (PVD) method for the purpose of producing an antifouling thin film
Summary
Membrane separation technology has been widely used in water desalination and wastewater treatment [1,2]. Its extensive applications is limited due to the occurrence of fouling [3]. Membrane fouling can be divided into organic, inorganic and biological fouling according to the foulant nature [4]. Biofouling is related to the accumulation of biomass on the membrane surface on which microorganisms mainly attach or grow [5]. Since biofouling results in flux reduction, and subsequently an increase in operational costs, it is essential to develop the membranes with antifouling properties [8]. In order to promote this characteristic and reduce biofouling, nanoparticles have been vastly applied, and the results have been mostly reported to be excellent [9]
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