Effect of chitosan-zinc oxide coated in PVDF membrane; morphology and performance testing

Abstract

PVDF membrane modification has been done by coating it using chitosan which is mixed with zinc oxide. This study was conducted to determine the effect of chitosan-zinc oxide hybrid on PVDF membrane’s hydrophobicity and performance. The coating has been processed by immersing PVDF membrane into a chitosan-zinc oxide hybrid solution with a ratio chitosan : zinc oxide of 1: 0 (M1), 6: 1 (M2), 4: 1 (M3), and 2: 1 (M4). Membrane morphology characterization was carried out by FE-SEM and FTIR. Water contact angle analysis and performance test was conducted to determine the effect of chitosan and zinc oxide on the hydrophobicity, permeability, percent rejection, and antifouling performance of PVDF membrane. The result of water contact angle analysis shows that the more zinc oxide was added to chitosan-zinc oxide hybrid, the hydrophobicity of membrane was decreased. Membrane performance test shows that the most stable membrane permeability to time is membrane M4, while the membrane with the most stable permeability to pressure is PVDF membrane without coating (membrane M). The best rejection performance ad flux recovery ratio of membranes is shown by membrane M4.