Preparation and characterization of PES-cobalt nanocomposite membranes with enhanced anti-fouling properties and performances

Abstract

Fouling and biofouling are still the challenging issues of membrane application in water industry. One of the practical approaches to control these limits is to develop anti-biofouling membranes. For this reason, novel polymeric membranes loaded with cobalt nanoparticles were produced for evaluating their properties against biofouling. Cobalt nanoparticles (CoNP) were synthesized by the reduction of Co+2 in aqueous solution using 4-aminophenol as reducing agent and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide CTAB as capping agent. The nanocomposite membranes of polyethersulfone-cobalt nanoparticles (PES-CoNP) were prepared by non-solvent induced phase inversion process (NIPS) using N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP) as solvent, PVP in different concentration, as pore forming and dispersing agent (of the cobalt nanoparticles) and pure water as non-solvent. The effect of nanoparticles concentration in membrane formation as well as the changes in the morphological and physical chemical properties of the produced membranes was studied, too. The nanocomposite membranes were systematically characterized using, Fourier Transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR) X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermal gravity analysis (TGA), contact angle, zeta potential, porosity, pore size distribution, Atomic Force microscopy (AFM), Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), water permeability, membrane performances in seawater and urban wastewater, antibacterial activity and mechanical properties. The PES-cobalt nanocomposite membranes exhibited good antibacterial activity as well as improved anti-biofouling properties. Overall, the results suggest, the functionalization of PES membranes by loading CoNP could be a viable solution to be applied in water treatment without compromise the performances of the pristine PES membranes.