Antifouling Characteristics Research Articles

A Multidisciplinary Experiment to Characterize Antifouling Biocompatible Interfaces via Quantification of Surface Protein Adsorption.

Novel biomaterial development is a rapidly growing field that is crucial because biomaterial fouling, due to rapid and irreversible protein adsorption, leads to cellular responses and potentially detrimental consequences such as surface thrombosis, biofilm formation, or inflammation. Therefore, biomaterial technology's fundamentals, like material biocompatibility, are critical in undergraduate education. Exposing undergraduate students to biomaterials and biomedical engineering through interdisciplinary experiments allows them to integrate knowledge from different fields to analyze multidisciplinary results. In this practical laboratory experiment, undergraduate students will characterize surface properties (contact and sliding angle measurements) for the antifouling polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer using a goniometer and a smartphone, as well as quantify protein adsorption on antifouling surfaces via a colorimetric assay kit to develop their understanding of antifouling surface characteristics, UV-vis spectroscopy, and colorimetric assays. The antifouling PDMS polymer is prepared by silicone oil infusion and compared to untreated control PDMS. The polymer hydrophobicity was demonstrated by static water contact angles of ~99° and 102° for control and antifouling PDMS surfaces, respectively. The control PDMS sliding angle (>90°) was significantly reduced to 9° after antifouling preparation. After 24 h incubation of polymer samples in a 200 mg/mL bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution, the surface adsorbed BSA was quantified using a colorimetric assay. The adsorbed protein on the fouling PDMS controls (29.1 ± 7.0 μg/cm2) was reduced by ~79% on the antifouling PDMS surface (6.2 ± 0.9 μg/cm2). Students will gain experience in materials science, biomedical engineering, chemistry, and biology concepts and better understand the influence of material properties on biological responses for biomaterial interfaces.

In-situ forming PEG-engineering hydrogels with anti-fouling characteristics as an artificial vitreous body

Endotamponade is in huge demand for vitrectomy, while current vitreous substitutes exhibit instability and foreign body reactions that impede long-term implantation. Herein, we report an in-situ forming hydrogel (PEGBAA) with prominent stability and anti-fouling properties as a long-term vitreous substitute consisting of two main components: functional-modified multi-arm poly(ethylene glycol) (8sPEG-SH/Mal) and zwitterionic poly(carboxybetaine) (pCBAA). The former is bioinert to provide long-term stability via the thiol-ene Michael addition reaction. The latter possesses anti-fouling characteristics to prevent adsorption of protein and cells due to its strong hydrophilicity. The PEGBAA hydrogel formed fast in situ exhibits reduced protein adsorption and cell adhesion compared to pure PEG-based hydrogels, good in vitro biocompatibility, and very similar critical parameters (i.e., light transmittance, refractive index, water content, modulus, high stability) to the natural vitreous humor. After a 180-day implantation through injection with a double syringe via standard vitrectomy procedures in rabbit models, the hydrogels acts as a very stable vitreous substitute without abnormal complications. Therefore, the strategy of in-situ forming hydrogels with anti-fouling properties offers a new avenue to improve the in vivo stability of long-term vitreous endotamponades.

Water Treatment Using High Performance Antifouling Ultrafiltration Polyether Sulfone Membranes Incorporated with Activated Carbon

Membrane fouling is a continued critical challenge for ultrafiltration membranes performance. In this work, polyether sulfone (PES) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were fabricated via phase-inversion method by incorporating varying concentrations of APTMS modified activated carbon (mAC). The mAC was thoroughly characterized and the fabricated membranes were studied for their surface morphology, functional groups, contact angle, water retention, swelling (%) porosity, and water flux. The hydrophilicity of mAC membranes also resulted in lower contact angle and higher values of porosity, roughness, water retention as well as water flux. Also, the membranes incorporated with mAC exhibited antibacterial performance against model test strains of gram-negative Ecoil and gram-positive S. aureus. The antifouling studies based on bovine serum albumin protein (BSA) solution filtration showed that mAC membranes have better BSA flux. The higher flux and antifouling characteristics of the mAC membranes were attributed to the electrostatic repulsion of the BSA protein from the unique functional properties of AC and network structure of APTMS. The novel mAC ultrafiltration membranes developed and studied in present work can provide higher flux and less BSA rejection thus can find antifouling applications for the isolation and concentration of proteins and macromolecules.

Inherent Flame-Retardant, Humid Environment Stable and Blue Luminescent Polyamide Elastomer Regulated by Siloxane Moiety.

The rapid development of the polymeric materials market has created an urgent demand for the thermoplastic polyamide elastomer (TPAE) owing to its greater functionality, and ability to be synthesized via a facile and industrial route. In this work, a series of novel silicone-containing polyamides (PA1212/Si12) were successfully synthesized from 1,12-dodecarboxylic acid (LA), 1,12-dodecarbondiamine (DMDA), and 1,3-bis (amino-propyl) tetramethyldisiloxane (BATS), via a one-pot melt polycondensation method in the absence of a catalyst. FTIR, 1H-NMR, GPC and inherent viscosity results cohesively prove that the polymerization of monomers was well conducted, and the chemical structure was in high accordance with the design. As expected, the Si12 unit-content of the copolymers regulate the properties of the series. As the feeding ratio of BATS in the diamines increases from 5 mol% to 40 mol%, the thermal transition temperatures, Tg and Tm, decline steadily before finally stabilizing at ~6 °C and 160 °C, respectively, indicating that the co-polyamides possess improved chain flexibility but restricted crystallization ability. The conspicuous evolution in crystalline morphology of the series was observed by XRD and AFM. The increased PA Si12 phase induces the crystallized PA 1212 phase to transit from a thermally-favorable large and rigid crystal structure (α phase) to a kinetically-favorable small and ductile crystal structure (γ phase). Reflected in their stress–strain behavior, PA1212/Si12 copolymers are successfully tailored from rigid plastic to ductile elastomer. The tensile strength mildly drops from above 40 MPa to ~30 MPa while the reversible elongation increases from ~50% to approximately 350%. Accordingly, the moderate surface tension differences in the monomers facilitate the efficient conduction of the co-polymerization process, and the distributed short siloxane unit in the backbone fulfills the copolymer with desirable elasticity. Interestingly, the novel silicone-containing polyamides also display Si12 unit-content dependent flame retardancy, humidity stability, and unconventional solid-state fluorescence properties. The elastomers exhibit a low bibulous rate and anti-fouling characteristics to dye droplets and mud contamination, pass the V–1 rating (UL 94) with a constantly declining PHRR value, and emit blue luminescence under a 365 nm light source. Herein, we propose a new facile strategy for developing a high-performance and multifunctional silicone-modified polyamide, which bears promising industrialization potential. In addition, this first reported silicone-containing thermoplastic polyamide elastomer, which is self-extinguishing, anti-fouling and blue-luminescent, will further broaden the application potential of thermoplastic polyamide elastomers.

A Membrane with Strong Resistance to Organic and Biological Fouling Using Graphene Oxide and D-Tyrosine as Modifiers.

Membrane fouling markedly influences the service life and performance of the membrane during the using process. Herein, hydrophilic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanocomposite (P-GO-DAA) membranes with antifouling and anti-biofouling characteristics were fabricated by employing graphene oxide (GO) and different concentrations of D-Tyrosine. The structural properties of the prepared nanocomposite membranes as well as pure PVDF membranes were characterized using FTIR, XPS, SEM, AFM, and contact angle analysis. It was found that the introduction of GO fillers made an excellent antifouling performance compared to pure PVDF indicated by the pure water flux, flux recovery rate, and rejection rate during ultrafiltration experiments as a result of the formation of the hydrophilic and more porous membrane. In particular, the nanocomposite membranes showed an increased flux of 305.27 L/(m2·h) and the rejection of 93.40% for the mixed pollutants solution (including Bull Serum Albumin, Sodium Alginate, and Humic Acid). Besides, the outstanding anti-biofouling activity was shown by the P-GO-DAA membrane with the properties of D-Tyrosine for inhibiting biofilm formation during the bacterial adhesion experiments. Furthermore, the adhesion ratio of bacteria on the membrane was 26.64% of the P-GO-DAA membrane compared to 84.22% of pure PVDF. These results were confirmed by CLSM.

Sustainable Modification of Polyethersulfone Membrane with Poly(Maleic Anhydride-Co-Glycerol) as Novel Copolymer

This work presented an endeavour to fabricate sustainable and eco-friendly polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration membranes. A novel and graft copolymer (Poly(Maleic Anhydride-Co-Glycerol)) (PMG) have been synthesized via a facile and rapid route to impart their hydrophilic features onto the final PES membrane. A series of characterization tools, for both nanoadditives and nanocomposite membranes, have been harnessed to confirm their successful fabrication processes. These include Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and contact angle measurements (CA). Results disclosed the successful synthesis of PMG nanoparticles that manifested a smooth homogenous surface with an average molecular size of 88.07 nm. The nanocomposite membrane structure has witnessed a gradual development upon each increment in the nanoparticle content ratio along with relatively thicker pore walls. The size and shape of figure-like micropores exhibited critical visible structural changes following the nanoadditive incorporation into the PES polymeric matrix. For the nanocomposite membrane, the SEM imaging indicated that a thicker active layer and less finger-like micropores were formed at higher PMG NP content within the membrane matrix. Hydrophilicity measurements disclosed a reversible correlation with the NP content where the CA angle value was at a minimum at the higher PMG loading content. Compared to the pristine membrane, a considerable enhancement in the performance of the modified membranes was witnessed. The membrane prepared using 2.5 g PMGNPs showcased six times higher pure water flux than neat PES membrane and maintained the highest retention (98%) against BSA protein solution. Additionally, the nanocomposite revealed promising antifouling and self-cleaning characteristics.

A self-cleaning photocatalytic composite membrane based on g-C3N4@MXene nanosheets for the removal of dyes and antibiotics from wastewater

The present paper deals with the coupling the advantages of photocatalysis and membrane technology in order to resolve the issue of membrane fouling without any compromise on separation characteristics. The g-C3N4 (CN) nanosheets have been used to modify two-dimensional (2D) MXene membrane, to obtain novel g-C3N4@MXene/PES (CN-MX) photocatalytic composite membrane through vacuum filtration for wastewater treatment. The 2D materials and membranes have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to evidence successful modification. The CN-MX composite membrane exhibited higher permeability than that of pure MXene membrane, which achieved a maximum permeability of 1790 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1. The composite membrane also showed a fabulous removal ratio for different organic pollutants: 98 % for Congo red (CR), 96 % for Trypan blue (TB) and 86 % for Tetracycline hydrochloride (TC), respectively. The best performed membrane (M3) was found to sustain three consecutive separation cycles without any performance deterioration and thereby, confirming a significant improvement in anti-fouling characteristic of the membrane.

A Flexible Electrochemiluminescence Sensor Equipped With Vertically Ordered Mesoporous Silica Nanochannel Film for Sensitive Detection of Clindamycin.

Fast, convenient, and highly sensitive detection of antibiotic is essential to avoid its overuse and the possible harm. Owing to enrichment effect and antifouling ability of ultrasmall nanochannels, the vertically ordered mesoporous silica nanochannel film (VMSF) has great potential in the development of the facile electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor for direct and sensitive analysis of antibiotics in complex samples. In this study, we demonstrated a flexible ECL sensor based on a cost-effective electrode covered with a VMSF for sensitive detection of clindamycin. Polyethylene terephthalate coated with indium tin oxide (PET-ITO) is applied as a flexible electrode to grow VMSF using the electrochemically assisted self-assembly (EASA) method. The negatively charged VMSF nanochannels exhibit significant enrichment toward the commonly used cationic ECL luminophores, tris(2,2-bipyridyl) dichlororuthenium (II) (Ru (bpy)3 2+). Using the enhanced ECL of Ru (bpy)3 2+ by clindamycin, the developed VMSF/PET-ITO sensor can sensitively detect clindamycin. The responses were linear in the concentration range of 10 nM–25 μM and in the concentration range of 25–70 μM. Owing to the nanoscale thickness of the VMSF and the high coupling stability with the electrode substrate, the developed flexible VMSF/PET-ITO sensor exhibits high signal stability during the continuous bending process. Considering high antifouling characteristic of the VMSF, direct analysis of clindamycin in a real biological sample, human serum, is realized.

Performance Evaluation of hi-k Lung-inspired 3D-printed Polymer Heat Exchangers

Polymer heat exchangers are attractive thermal management solutions due to their low-cost, lightweight, antifouling, and anti-corrosion characteristics. They, however, demonstrate poor thermal characteristics mainly due to the low thermal conductivities of typical polymers. Additive manufacturing of high thermal conductivity polymer heat exchangers utilizing complex heat transfer topologies could potentially address the issue. In this study, thermal performances of 3D-printed polymer heat exchangers with intricate internal geometries including a lung-inspired design at low-to-high thermal conductivities are experimentally and numerically examined. It was found the effective thermal conductivity of a 3D-printed polymer heat exchanger is close to the through-plane thermal conductivity. It was also identified that through-plane leakage in thin 3D-printed polymer walls is a major challenge associated with 3D-printed polymer heat exchangers. The issue was remedied by in-situ infusion of an epoxy layer during the 3D-printing and a post-curing process. Experiments conducted at various thermo-hydraulic conditions showed that the high thermal conductivity lung-inspired polymer heat exchanger offers high thermal duties at reduced pressure drop penalties and exceptionally high effectiveness of 70–80% that is comparable to that of metal-based heat exchangers. At an air Reynolds number of 1200, the volume-based power density of the high thermal conductivity lung-inspired design is 522 kW/m3, which is a 101% improvement compared with a typical plate-and-frame design. This study concludes that the thermal performance of a polymer heat exchanger strongly depends on both material (i.e., thermal conductivity) and architecture (i.e., an optimum design with a minimal thermal resistance between hot and cold sides). Insights gained from this study could offer new pathways for designing innovative 3D-printed polymer heat exchanger technologies with unprecedented heat transfer rates at reduced pressure drop penalties for lightweight, antifouling, and/or anti-corrosion applications.

Experimental study on the particle fouling properties of magnetic nanofluids in a corrugated tube with built-in twisted turbulator under variable magnetic field

The introduction of new heat exchange medium and strengthening structure can greatly improve the performance of heat exchanger. In order to analyze the application possibility of magnetic nanofluids and twisted turbulators in heat exchangers, this paper experimentally studied the effects of magnetic field and turbulence elements on the fouling characteristics of magnetic nanofluids. The influence of different Reynolds numbers, different magnetic fields, and different porosity on the fouling characteristics of working fluids was evaluated by the anti-fouling rate. It was found that the application of the turbulator and the magnetic field has good particle anti-fouling characteristics, and the anti-fouling rate is greater than 1. Twisted turbulator with porosity ξ = 7.69% has the best anti-fouling effect, followed by unpunched turbulator, and that with porosity ξ = 30.47% has the worst anti-fouling effect.

Combination of Universal Chemical Deposition and Unique Liquid Etching for the Design of Superhydrophobic Aramid Paper with Bioinspired Multiscale Hierarchical Dendritic Structure.

It is urgent and significant for the further development of superhydrophobic materials to exploit a facile, low-cost, scalable, and eco-friendly method for the manufacture of superhydrophobic materials with self-cleaning, antifouling, directional transportation, and other characteristics. Herein, an outstanding superhydrophobic material composed of a flexible microconvex aramid paper substrate, micron-scale cone-shaped copper, micro-nanoscale dendritic copper oxide, and hydrophobic copper stearate film has been successfully constructed through delicate architectural design and a convenient preparation approach. Based on the microstructure evolution and composition analysis results, it is revealed that the cone-shaped copper was etched into a dendritic copper oxide structure step by step from the top to bottom and from the outside to inside in an alkaline liquid environment. Moreover, by virtue of the compositional features and structural characteristics, the constructed superhydrophobic material showcased a high contact angle (CA), low sliding angle (SA), high porosity, low surface free energy, and adhesion work. Meanwhile, the dendritic microstructure analysis, the calculation of solid-liquid interfacial tension, and the force analysis of water droplets jointly revealed the mechanism of the bounce and merged bounce of water droplets. Finally, this superhydrophobic material has the functions of self-cleaning, antifouling, and directional transportation, especially by controlling the deformation of the material to realize the transportation of water droplets in a specified direction.

Amino acid-mediated negatively charged surface improve antifouling and tribological characteristics for medical applications

To prevent infections associated with biomedical catheters, various antimicrobial coatings have been investigated. However, those materials do not provide consistent antibacterial effects or biocompatibility, generally, due to degradation of the coating materials, in vivo. Additionally, biomedical catheters must have low surface friction to reduce tribological damage. In this study, we developed an antifouling surface composed of biocompatible amino acids (leucine, taurine, and aspartic acid) on polyimide, via modification using a series of facile immersion steps with waterborne reactions. The naturally derived amino acid could be formed highly biostable amide bonds on the polyimide surface like peptides. The amino acid-modified surface formed a water layer with antifouling performance through the hydrophilic properties of amino acids. Amino acid-mediated modification reduced adhesion up to 84.45% and 94.81% against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis, respectively, and exhibited an excellent prevention to adhesion against the proteins, albumin and fibrinogen. Evaluation of the surface friction of the catheter revealed a dramatic reduction in the tribological force after amino acid modification on polyimide that of 0.81 N to aspartic acid of 0.44 N. These results clearly demonstrate a reduced occurrence of infections, thrombi and tribological damage following the relatively facile surface modification of catheters. The proposed modification method can be used in a continuous manufacturing process via using the same time of modification steps for the easy producing the product. Moreover, the method uses biocompatible naturally derived materials and can be applied to medical equipment that requires biocompatibility and biofunctionality with polyimide surfaces.

Ceramic membranes with in situ doped iron oxide nanoparticles for enhancement of antifouling characteristics and organic removal

Nanoparticle modified membranes exhibited enhanced antifouling characteristics.

Efficacy of MOF-199 in improvement of permeation, morphological, antifouling and antibacterial characteristics of polyvinylidene fluoride membranes

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are widely explored for advances in hybrid membranes because of their bonding and fondness in polymers.

Enhanced anti-fouling performance in Membrane Bioreactors using a novel cellulose nanofiber-coated membrane

• The fouling of TFNC-CNF membranes is reversible when filtering wastewater. • Enhanced flux was achieved in the submerged TFNC-CNF membrane bioreactor. • TFNC-CNF membranes showed higher rejection potential of bio-foulants. • Air scouring enhanced the flux of TFNC-CNF membranes when filtering wastewater. The filtration performance, fouling and flux recovery efficiency of a novel thin film nanofibrous composite-cellulose nanofiber (TFNC-CNF) coated membrane was studied and compared with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes treating domestic wastewater. The enhanced anti-fouling property of the TFNC-CNF membrane was associated with the super-hydrophilic nature and negative charge on the membrane surface. The dead-end cell filtration tests demonstrated the TFNC-CNF membrane recovered more than 90% of the initial flux after mechanical cleaning, compared with 26–43% recovery by PVDF membranes. Continuous wastewater ultrafiltration tests with mechanical air scouring confirmed the outstanding permeability (71.3–138.9 LMH/bar) and the superior anti-fouling characteristics (59.2–86.8% recovery of the initial flux) of the TFNC-CNF membrane. Furthermore, higher total organic carbon rejection rates were also observed in the TFNC-CNF membrane (>83.2%) than the PVDF membrane (<69.8%). Collectively, the superior flux recovery and high permeability makes the TFNC-CNF membrane a promising material for membrane bioreactors.

High-efficient oil/water separation membrane based on MXene nanosheets by co-incorporation of APTES and amine functionalized carbon nanotubes

Membrane based separation technology has great prospects in the treatment of oily wastewater, which involves serious environmental and health concern. In the present investigation, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) was used to modify MXene nanosheets and amine functionalized carbon nanotubes (ACNTs) was used to control the layer spacing of MXene followed by the fabrication of a series of APTES/MXene-ACNTs composite membranes supported on cellulose acetate (CA) by vacuum filtration. The surface morphology analysis by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that, the composite membranes exhibited excellent hydrophilicity as well as high efficiency in oil/water emulsion separation. The rejection ratios of composite membranes for lubricating oil emulsion and vegetable oil emulsion were found to be more than 99%. Compared to the pure MXene membrane M1 (500.7 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1), the pure water flux of the best modified membrane APTES/MXene-ACNTs/CA (M4) reaches up to 2892.8 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1. Moreover, the modified membrane shows good anti-fouling and anti-swelling characteristics even after several cyclic consecutive cycles. This work demonstrates a new horizon in the applications of two-dimensional membrane materials.

Deposition of silicate coatings on poly(ethylene terephthalate) for improved scratch and solvent resistance

AbstractThe surface of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films crystallizes when exposed to a broad class of organic solvents (protic polar, aprotic polar, and non‐polar). This phenomenon leads to irreversible changes in transparency and mechanical properties. It also limits PET films and coatings in applications including electronics, medicine, packaging, and construction. This work describes a method to impart solvent resistance to the PET surface by depositing a silicate film. This coating enables many post‐functionalization options, including those that tune wettability or impart antifouling characteristics to the parent PET surface. It also endows PET surface resistance to organic solvent exposure without affecting the overall mechanical and optical properties of the PET. Additionally, the silicate layer improves the scratch resistance of PET surfaces.

Evaluation of Different Monolayer Chemistries on Carbon Electrodes for the Fabrication of Electrochemical, Aptamer-Based Sensors

Electrochemical, DNA-based sensors represent a powerful tool to selectively detect and quantify molecular targets in highly complex media such as whole blood in living animals. These sensors consist of a biointerface containing redox reporter-modified DNA molecules attached to the surface of (typically) gold electrodes via sulfur-gold bonds. They also employ short chain alkanethiols for the purpose of passivating the electrode surface, thus preventing undesired electrochemical reactions and achieving antifouling characteristics to, for example, prevent non-specific protein binding. Despite the huge success and promising applications of electrochemical, DNA-based sensors and the development of this platform for over 15 years, the DNA sensing architecture has been almost exclusively limited to the use of thiol-based monolayers on gold electrodes. This limits the performance of such sensors by the surface stability of alkanethiols, which are labile, and excludes the use of electrode materials other than gold, considerably reducing potential fields of application for DNA-based sensors. Motivated to expand the diversity of monolayer chemistries and electrode materials that can be used to fabricate DNA-based sensors, our group is currently exploring different approaches to chemically functionalize the surface of carbon-based electrodes. In this work, I will discuss the different chemical approaches we are pursuing in this regard and their performance in terms of monolayer packing, extent of surface passivation, and long-term stability in physiological buffers and biological fluids. I will also discuss how these chemistries compare with benchmark thiol-on-gold monolayers.

Enhancing industries exploitation: Integrated and hybrid membrane separation processes applied to industrial effluents beyond the treatment for disposal

Facilities intended for industrial effluents treatment for only disposal are no longer interesting from an environmental and economical perspective. Rather than that, they started to be designed for by-products recovery as well. Stand-alone treatment units are often ineffective for that purpose, which led to researches that investigate integrated and hybrid treatments. It has been reviewed integrated membrane-based technologies intended for by-products recovery from industrial effluents in bench and full-scale applications. Consolidated technologies as ultra-, micro-, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membrane have been combined with different biological and physicochemical technologies that allow for by-products recovery. It has been summarized the merits and demerits of their integration, in addition to recommendations to improve their efficiency. Besides the conventional membrane separation processes, emerging technologies as electrodialysis and membrane contactors (membrane scrubbers, membrane distillation, and membrane crystallizers) were summarized. Although considered emerging, they have a great potential to be further scale-up and combined with different processes. Aside from their performance in effluent treatment and by-product recovery, their economic viability has been discussed as well. Up-coming membrane modules combining different processes, markedly known for their small area requirement and performance improvement, were also presented. The current literature points out integrated/hybrid systems and effluents valorization as one of the alternatives to overcome the scarcity of the raw materials to be faced in a near future. However, advancements in membranes of greater resistance, lower costs, antifouling characteristics, and lower propensity for wetting would be of paramount importance to extend the application of these systems for effluents beneficiation.

Influence of GO-Ag nano-filler on the antibacterial, antifouling and hydrophilic characteristics of polyvinyl chloride membrane

The integral hydrophobic characteristic of polymers hinders their implementations towards water treatment. In the present work, highly hydrophilic and antifouling polyvinyl chloride membranes were fabricated based on graphene oxide-silver (GO-Ag) nanolayers. The distinctive infiltration approach of polyvinyl chloride resin through the stacked GO-Ag layers results in surface availability of highly hydrophilic graphene oxide nanosheets. Incorporation of different weight percent of GO-Ag to the polyvinyl chloride resin increases the permeability, rejection and antifouling properties of polyvinyl chloride membranes. Water contact angle of pure polyvinyl chloride was found to decrease from 92.5° to 61.4° for GO-Ag based membrane. Water flux and bovine serum albumin rejection of pure polyvinyl chloride membrane were improved from 192 Lm−2 h−1 to 613 Lm−2 h−1 and 81.5% to 92.1% respectively. Besides this, graphene oxide silver based membrane depicts least irreversible fouling 14.3% and highest flux recovery ratio 85.6%. Maintenance of high flux recovery ratio of P/GO-Ag 0.5 wt% membrane after three consecutive cycles of water and bovine serum albumin filtration justify the high durability of membrane. The synthesized GO-Ag nanoadditive showed appreciable antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli. Thermo gravimetric analysis and Differential scanning calorimetry analysis of GO-Ag based membranes proves their high thermal stability as well.