The effect of silver-PAMAM dendrimer nanocomposites on the performance of PVDF membranes

Abstract

The highly hydrophobic property of PVDF membranes makes them prone to fouling, so hydrophilic additives are frequently used to improve their hydrophilicity and anti-fouling performance. In this study, silver nanoparticles were prepared by using PAMAM dendrimers as templates to form silver-PAMAM dendrimer nanocomposites (Ag DENPs), which have amine terminated groups and good hydrophilicity and antibacterial performance. So Ag DENPs were used to improve the hydrophilicity and anti-fouling performance of PVDF membranes. Judging from the result of SEM measurement, Ag DENPs increased the surface roughness and decreased the pore size of PVDF membranes. According to the result of water static contact measurement, Ag DENPs made a significant improvement in PVDF membrane surface hydrophilicity. And one possible explanation on the improvement of PVDF membrane surface hydrophilicity with Ag DENPs was firstly proposed. Membrane permeation and anti-bacterial tests were carried out to characterize the antifouling performance of PVDF membranes. Flux recovery ratio (FRR) increased about 40% in the presence of Ag DENPs on the PVDF membrane surface, which elucidated that the anti-organic fouling performance of PVDF membranes was elevated. Simultaneously, the Ag DENPs–PVDF membranes were better suited to capture HA than BSA. Anti-bacterial test confirmed that Ag DENPs–PVDF membranes showed superior anti-biofouling activity.