Excellent Antifouling Properties Research Articles

In situ reaction enabled surface segregation toward dual-heterogeneous antifouling membranes for oil-water separation

Fabricating membranes with superior antifouling property and long-term high performance is in great demand for efficient oil-water separation. Herein, we reported a reaction enabled surface segregation method for antifouling membrane fabrication, in which the pre-synthesized fluorinated ternary copolymer Pluronic F127 was coordinated with Ti4+ as segregation additive in the membrane casting bath. Additionally, tannic acid was utilized to enhance the self-assembly of the copolymer in the coagulation bath, and freshly-biomineralized TiO2 was anchored into the membrane surface through hydrogen bond. A hydrogel layer was constructed onto the membrane surface with synergistically tailored heterogeneous chemical composition and heterogeneous geometrical roughness. The dual-heterogeneous membrane exhibited hydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic features, resulting in high water flux (621.7 L m−2 h−1) at low operation pressure of 0.05 MPa and an excellent antifouling property (only 4.8% flux decline during 24-hour filtration). In situ reaction enabled surface segregation method will accelerate the development of antifouling membranes for oil-in-water emulsion separation.

Multifunctional design integrating the flame-retardant and antifouling functionality into superhydrophobic cotton fabric

Here, we construct a stable flame-retardant superhydrophobic cotton fabric (FRS-CF) via simple impregnation method. The firstly deposited ammonium polyphosphate/zinc borate (APP/ZB) and silicon dioxide form an inorganic hierarchical structure, which not only endow the fabric with flame retardancy, but also provide appropriate roughness for the construction of superhydrophobicity coating. The latter deposited polydimethylsiloxane function as low surface energy materials to achieve the superhydrophobic performance, and the added epoxy resin could strongly increase the overall mechanical stability of the coating through providing interfacial adhesion. Importantly, the hierarchical micro-sized structure generated by the deposition of APP/ZB can supply particular protection for the constructed superhydrophobic coating from flame. Thus, the modified cotton fabric can self-extinguish during vertical combustion and display excellent flame retardancy with oxygen limitation index above 30 %. Additionally, the coating shows excellent water repellency, self-cleaning, anti-fouling properties and oil-water separation to a variety of liquids. The constructed coating holds durable flame-retardant and robust mechanical stability. After cycled friction test, the FRS-CF still maintains excellent superhydrophobicity and the oxygen limitation index remains above 30 %. We believe that the design of robust superhydrophobic/flame-retardant coating may advance the development of flame-retardant cotton fabric and provide new possibilities for the practical application of superhydrophobic coating.

Supramolecular Self-Healing Antifouling Coating for Dental Materials.

In orthodontic treatment, orthodontic appliances are prone to bacterial infections, which pose a risk to oral health. Surface modification of orthodontic appliances has been explored to improve their antifouling properties and impart antibacterial capabilities, inhibiting initial bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation. However, coatings are susceptible to damage in the complex oral environment, leading to a loss of functionality. Here, we have prepared an antifouling self-healing coating based on supramolecular bonding by employing a simple spin coating method. The presence of the hydrophilic zwitterionic trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and the hydrophobic antimicrobial moieties triclosan acrylate (TCSA) imparts to the polymers an amphiphilic structure and enhances the interaction with bacteria, resulting in excellent antimicrobial activity and surface antifouling properties. The multiple hydrogen bonds of ureido-pyrimidinone methacrylate (UPyMA) and ionic interactions contained in the polymers not only increased the adhesion of the coating to the material substrate (approximately 3 times) but also endowed the coating with the intrinsic self-healing ability to restore the antibiofouling properties at oral temperature and humidity. Finally, the polymer coating is biologically safe both in vitro and in vivo, showing no cytotoxic effects on cells and tissues. This research offers a promising avenue for improving the performance of orthodontic appliances and contributes to the maintenance and treatment of oral health.

Characterization of a chlorine resistant and hydrophilic TiO2/calcium alginate hydrogel filtration membrane used for protein purification maintaining protein structure

The development of membranes for protein purification has stringent requirement of disinfection resistance, low protein adsorption and anti-fouling, without changing protein structure. In this study, hydrophilic titanium dioxide (TiO2)/calcium alginate (TiO2/CaAlg) hydrogel membranes were prepared by a simple ionic cross-linking method. The effects of the porogenic agent polyethylene glycol (PEG) concentration, the molecular weight of PEG, and the concentration of TiO2 on the filtration properties were systematically investigated. The TiO2/CaAlg membrane exhibited excellent bovine serum albumin (BSA) rejection and anti-fouling properties. The mechanical properties and surface energy of the TiO2/CaAlg membrane were significantly improved. The chemical bonding mechanism of TiO2 and NaAlg was investigated by molecular dynamic simulation. The TiO2/CaAlg membrane had good chlorine resistance and could be disinfected or cleaned with sodium hypochlorite. The TiO2/CaAlg hydrogel membrane loaded with polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) nanofibers maintained high flux (136.7 L/m2h) and high BSA rejection (98.0 %) at 0.1 MPa. The results of circular dichroism and synchronous fluorescence indicated that the secondary structure of BSA was maintained after membrane separation. This study provides one method for the preparation of green and environmentally friendly membrane for protein purification.

Functional surfaces with zwitterionic carboxybetaine l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine: Synthesis, coating, and antifouling applications

In this paper, we present synthesis of a novel carboxybetaine l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine derivative (CB-DOPA) and its excellent antifouling properties to inhibit bacterial adhesion. We optimized the coating efficiency by controlling oxidation-induced polymerization with various oxidants in an alkaline environment. The surface coating was investigated by water contact angle goniometry, ellipsometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and FT-IR spectroscopy. Among the conditions examined, the optimal condition was the sodium periodate-mediated oxidation, which achieved the highest CB-DOPA coating efficiency. The optimized CB-DOPA coating was applied to a variety of substrates, including gold, titanium dioxide, stainless steel, poly(tetrafluoroethylene), and polyurethane. Compared with bare controls, CB-DOPA-coated substrates showed high resistance to the adhesion of Escherichia coli.

Fabrication of silver nanoparticle decorated graphene oxide membranes for water purification, antifouling and antibacterial applications

The quality of portable water is adversely affected by inadequate wastewater treatment, increase in domestic & industrial waste, and microbial contamination of surface water sources. Purification techniques such as sedimentation, precipitation, filtration, and ion exchange can be employed to recover clean water from various impurities. Among these, membrane-based purification methods have become more appealing in recent years due to its cost-effective and energy-saving features. However, fouling is a ubiquitous problem in membrane-based purification technologies, which leads to reduced water permeation and quality. Present study embodies the development of silver decorated graphene oxide coated nylon membrane with remarkable antibacterial and antifouling properties. Antibacterial analysis of bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, validates that higher concentration of silver in GO (GO A500) composites hinder the growth of bacteria. The antifouling properties of GO A500 membrane showed flux recovery ratio of 96 % with irreversible fouling ratio of 3 % during the filtration of BSA (Bovine serum albumin) protein. Further fabricated composite membrane exhibited pure water flux of 46.7 L m−2 h−1 with dye removal rate of 95 %, 88 % and 85 % for Congo red, Rhodamine-B and Methylene blue respectively. Catalytic studies conducted on GO A500 membrane demonstrated the efficacy of their antifouling properties. The investigations revealed that the composite (GO A500) membrane has excellent antibacterial and antifouling properties, making it a suitable option for wastewater treatment applications.

Enhancing dye removal and antifouling properties of conductive polyethersulfone nanocomposite membranes by analogous zwitterion-functionalized separation layers with tunable surface-charge orientation

Membrane separation has been demonstrated to have enormous potential for alleviating the global scarcity of clean water. However, membrane fouling extremely limits its applications, and on-demand and precise molecular separation is very challenging for traditional membranes. Here, a novel smart voltage-gated membrane with an analogous zwitterion-functionalized separation layer is prepared by combining blending, surface segregation and co-deposition. Intriguingly, amphiphilic sodium styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer (SMANa) anchored on CNTs not only promotes their dispersion in the membrane but also enhances the electroconductivity through the synergistic ionic-electronic conducting effect. More importantly, positively and negatively charged molecular chains mounted on the membrane surface could form different “electric double” layers in response to the voltage stimuli. Consequently, the optimized membrane as the cathode exhibits superior permeations and separations of Congo red (99.9 %, 313.6 L/m2·h·bar) and indigo carmine (96.9 %, 420 L/m2·h·bar), and as the anode displays outstanding permeations and separations of methyl green (98 %, 381.6 L/m2·h·bar), crystal violet (95.7 %, 368.2 L/m2·h·bar) and methyl orange (94.6 %, 166.4 L/m2·h·bar) due to the effective combination of size sieving, electro-enhanced electrostatic repulsion and adsorption-induced electrostatic repulsion effects. Simultaneously, high flux recovery ratios are also achieved due to the superposition of a stable hydration layer and electrochemistry, indicating excellent antifouling properties.

Probing charge transfer through antifouling polymer brushes by electrochemical methods: The impact of supporting self-assembled monolayer chain length

Ultrathin surface-tethered polymer brushes represent attractive platforms for a wide range of sensing applications in strategically vital areas such as medicine, forensics, or security. The recent trends in such developments towards “real world conditions” highlighted the role of zwitterionic poly(carboxybetaine) (pCB) brushes which provide excellent antifouling properties combined with bio-functionalization capacity. Highly dense pCB brushes are usually prepared by the “grafting from” polymerization triggered by initiators on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). Here, multi-methodological experimental studies are pursued to elucidate the impact of the alkanethiolate SAM chain length (C6, C8 and C11) on structural and functional properties of antifouling poly(carboxybetaine methacrylamide) (pCBMAA) brush. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in a custom-made 3D printed cell employing [Ru(NH3)6]3+/2+ redox probe were used to investigate penetrability of SAM/pCBMAA bilayers for small molecules and interfacial charge transfer characteristics. The biofouling resistance of pCBMAA brushes was characterized by surface plasmon resonance; ellipsometry and FT-IRRAS spectroscopy were used to determine swelling and relative density of the brushes synthesized from initiator-bearing SAMs with varied carbon chain length. The SAM length was found to have a substantial impact on all studied characteristics; the highest value of charge transfer resistance (Rct) was observed for denser pCBMAA on longer-chain (C11) SAM when compared to shorter (C8/C6) SAMs. The observed high value of Rct for C11 implies a limitation for the analytical performance of electrochemical sensing methods. At the same time, the pCBMAA brushes on C11 SAM exhibited the best bio-fouling resistance among inspected systems. This demonstrates that proper selection of supporting structures for brushes is critical in the design of these assemblies for biosensing applications.

High flux and highly fouling-resistant polyamide reverse osmosis membrane having inner and outer zwitterion-like layers

The development of high flux and highly fouling-resistant reverse osmosis (RO) membranes is crucial for addressing water crisis. However, it is still challenged to enhance the antifouling performance of the membrane against organic foulants, particularly charged small organic foulants. We herein reported the fabrication of antifouling thin-film composite (TFC) polyamide (PA) RO membranes having inner and outer zwitterion-like layers by a scalable layer-by-layer interfacial polymerization process. The inner zwitterion-like layer is constituted by the positive charges from the incorporated cationic surfactant of benzalkonium chloride (BAC) and the negative charges from carboxylic acid groups in the PA. Then, the outer zwitterion layer is the L-arginine molecules grafted on the PA. The modified RO membranes have a high water permeance of 3.92 L m−2 h−1 bar−1, while maintaining a NaCl rejection rate of 99.18 %. In addition, the obtained membranes exhibit excellent antifouling properties with the flux decline rate (FDR) of below 40 % and the flux recovery rate (FRR) of above 98 % against 200 ppm of positively and negatively charged surfactants as small organic foulant models, surpassing most of the reported membranes. Our work provides insights to engineer the polyamide RO membrane surface with superior separation performance and efficient anti-fouling properties.

Eco-friendly intrinsic self-healing superhydrophobic polyurea/TiO2 composite coatings for underwater drag reduction and antifouling

With more and more exploration of the marine environment, a series of underwater monitoring equipment such as underwater vehicles are used more widely. Reducing the operation cost of underwater equipment and improving work efficiency have become the focus of attention. Superhydrophobic coatings have excellent applications in drag reduction, antifouling and other fields due to their unique surface wettability. This paper reports a superhydrophobic polyurea/TiO2 composite coating with rapid self-healing ability by simple sprinkling or spraying of modified TiO2 nanoparticles on the brushed polyurea coating. The modified TiO2 nanoparticles were driven to migrate to the surface of the coating by the synergistic self-healing effect of the disulfide and hydrogen bonds inside the polyurea, contributing to restoring the superhydrophobicity. This superhydrophobic polyurea/TiO2 composite coating possesses ~11.28 % drag reduction efficiency after being applied to underwater navigation, and it shows ~11.04 times higher water loading capacity than its weight. Moreover, this coating possesses excellent antifouling properties and chemical durability. This work provides new clues for future applications of drag reduction and pollution prevention of underwater exploration equipment.

Mechanically robust liquid-embedded coating with anti-icing/deicing durability

The slippery liquid-infused porous surface has been concerned for their excellent icephobicity. However, unavoidable lubricant consumption can result in the failure of anti-icing/deicing properties. Traditional coatings cannot escape the choice between anti-icing/deicing property and mechanical performance. This paper reports mechanically robust liquid-embedded coating (MRLC) with anti-icing/deicing durability. The MRLC is prepared by a facile one-step method via adding silica and silicone oil in the process of co-curing PDMS and epoxy resin. The prepared MRLC-5–5–80 have excellent anti-fouling, self-cleaning, anti-icing/deicing and anti-frost properties in high humidity and low temperature environment. This surface remained free of liquid residue and ice within 30 min in supercooled water droplet impact test. In addition, this coating exhibited a low τice (5.48 kPa) and excellent durability. The PDMS polymer and fumed silica serve as oil storage reservoir for the coating to ensure durability, and the anti-icing/deicing durability can be restored by self-replenishing and external-replenishing. More importantly, the coating guarantees anti-icing/deicing durability while possessing excellent mechanical robustness. The liquid repellency and anti-icing/deicing performance still prevailed after various mechanical damages. This method opens the door for production of durable and mechanically robust for various anti-icing/deicing practical applications.

Bionic eco-friendly synergic anti-scaling Cu-Zn-CeO2 coating on steel substrate functionalized by multi-scale structures and heating enhanced adsorption

Scaling is a universal issue encountered in pipeline steel during offshore oil extraction. In this paper, a synergic anti-scaling Cu-Zn-CeO2 coating on the pipeline steel substrate was fabricated by one-step composite electrodeposition and magnetic stirring. It shows the wettability transition from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic of the multi-scale structured Cu-Zn-CeO2 coating without low-surface-energy modification after heating at 60℃ for 60 min and stored in air for ∼ 35 days. The wettability transition is owing to the hydrocarbons adsorption. The heating treatment and the multi-scale structure improve the hydrocarbons adsorption and reduce the transition time. The inherent hydrophobic CeO2 is beneficial for the superhydrophobic property and reduces the transition time. Compared with the steel substrate and previous superhydrophobic Cu and Cu-Zn coatings, it indicates the superhydrophobic Cu-Zn-CeO2 coating shows the promising synergic anti-scaling property due to its superhydrophobicity and the anti-scaling property of Cu-Zn alloys. This eco-friendly synergic anti-scaling Cu-Zn-CeO2 coating also shows excellent self-cleaning and anti-fouling properties. Moreover, the stability of the superhydrophobic Cu-Zn-CeO2 coating was enhanced compared with our previous superhydrophobic Cu-Zn coating due to CeO2 nanoparticles. This research enriches the theory and the technology of the wetting field, which also provides a technical basis for solving scaling problems of pipelines.

Mussel-inspired proteins functionalize catheter with antifouling and antibacterial properties

Bacterial adhesion and subsequent biofilm formation on catheter can cause inevitably infection. The development of multifunctional antibacterial coating is a promising strategy to resist the bacteria adhesion and biofilm formation. Herein, a mussel-inspired chimeric protein MZAgP is prepared and employed to modify a variety of polymeric catheters. The MZAgP is composed of mussel-adhesive peptide, zwitterionic peptide, and silver-binding peptide, which can endow catheters with antifouling, bactericidal and biocompatibility performances. Expectedly, negligible biofilm is observed on the MZAgP coated catheters after incubating with bacteria for 120 h. And ignorable hemolysis and cytotoxicity are obtained on coated catheters. In addition, the modified catheters also display persistent antifouling and bacteriostatic properties throughout 168 h under hydrodynamic conditions. Moreover, the coated catheters can still remain excellent antifouling and antibacterial properties even after 2 months of storage. This multifunctional coating may be promising as antibacterial and antibiofilm biomaterial, and the coated catheters are potential in clinical application.

Enhance organic pollutants removal of wastewater by a PVDF/PDA-TiO2 composite membrane with photocatalytic property

It is a great challenge to develop a low cost, high efficiency and environmentally friendly method to treat organic wastewater. In this study, synergistic modification of polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membrane with polydopamine and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles is developed to construct a PVDF composite membrane for the organic wastewater treatment. This composite membrane was prepared by firstly forming a membrane with dopamine modified PVDF powder, and then depositing TiO2 nanoparticles by a liquid deposition method. The preexisting polydopamine induced TiO2 to be well dispersed in the membrane pores and on the membrane surface and their synergy endowed the composite membrane with excellent treatment ability for organic wastewater. After the composite membrane was irradiated by UV light for 60 min, its water flux could be three times greater than that of the corresponding PVDF membrane. Meanwhile, the composite membrane showed very high rejection ability for filtering wastewater with organic pollutants, could remove about 99.0% of Congo red and Coomassie brilliant blue G250, 98.2% of humic acid and 86.7% of bovine serum albumin from organic wastewater. Furthermore, after a humic acid solution filtration and a followed 60-min UV irradiation, the composite membrane could recover above 87.2% of the water flux. Due to the good wetting properties and underwater low oil droplets adhesion, this membrane also exhibited high rejection and excellent anti-fouling properties for filtering oil-water emulsion. Undoubtedly, the constructed membrane is a good generalist for the separation and wastewater treatment applications.

Preparation of superhydrophilic polyimide fibrous membranes by electrostatic spinning fabrication for the efficient separation of oil-in-water emulsions

Membrane separation is considered an effective technology for treating oily wastewater. Hydrophilic, underwater oleophobic water removal membranes prepared by electrostatic spinning have received significant attention due to their excellent antifouling properties, small pore blockage, and high permeation flux. Herein, a simple and effective method was proposed for fabricating fabrics with superhydrophilic and submerged superoleophobic properties. First, the materials were co-blended with sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate by electrostatic spinning, and then the porous fiber membrane was obtained by a step-up temperature for thermal imidization. The obtained membranes showed superhydrophilic and underwater oleophobic properties and could separate oil–water emulsions with or without surfactant stabilization while also exhibiting certain retention of methylene blue dye. The separation efficiency was driven by gravity alone, and the oil–water separation efficiency was always above 98.5% for 10 separation cycles, with a separation flux of up to 700 L·m−2·h−1. The modified membranes were tested and evaluated for various oil–water emulsions, and the separation efficiency was found to be consistently above 98.5%. In addition, the membranes showed satisfactory mechanical strength, high-temperature resistance, and excellent contamination resistance, suggesting that these membranes could serve as promising candidates for the treatment of industrial oil-in-water emulsions.

Integration of Porous Nanomaterial-Infused Membrane in UF/FO Membrane Hybrid for Simulated Osmosis Membrane Bioreactor (OsMBR) Process

This study explored the use of a combination of hydrothermal and sol–gel methods to produce porous titanium dioxide (PTi) powder with a high specific surface area of 112.84 m2/g. The PTi powder was utilized as a filler in the fabrication of ultrafiltration nanocomposite membranes using polysulfone (PSf) as the polymer. The synthesized nanoparticles and membranes were analyzed using various techniques, including BET, TEM, XRD, AFM, FESEM, FTIR, and contact angle measurements. The membrane’s performance and antifouling properties were also assessed using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a simulated wastewater feed solution. Furthermore, the ultrafiltration membranes were tested in the forward osmosis (FO) system using a 0.6-weight-percent solution of poly (sodium 4-styrene sulfonate) as the osmosis solution to evaluate the osmosis membrane bioreactor (OsMBR) process. The results revealed that the incorporation of PTi nanoparticles into the polymer matrix enhanced the hydrophilicity and surface energy of the membrane, resulting in better performance. The optimized membrane containing 1% PTi displayed a water flux of 31.5 L/m2h, compared to the neat membrane water value of 13.7 L/m2h. The membrane also demonstrated excellent antifouling properties, with a flux recovery of 96%. These results highlight the potential of the PTi-infused membrane as a simulated osmosis membrane bioreactor (OsMBR) for wastewater treatment applications.

Durable and Versatile Liquid-like Surfaces via the Base-Triggered Synthesis of Polysiloxane

Coatings with liquid-like repellency to liquids has attracted much attention due to their wide range of applications. However, the current liquid-like coatings are usually very thin in the nanoscale and require of specific substrates for application, which leads to poor durability and much restriction on their applications. Here, we report the fabrication of a liquid-like polysiloxane coating with tunable thicknesses through base-catalyzed rapid hydrolysis and polycondensation among a formula of alkylalkoxysilanes. The transparent liquid-like coating shows negligible contact-angle hysteresis to both water and low-surface-tension oils and can be readily applied on substrates of different types. The coating also presents high thermal and hydrolytic durability, excellent antifouling properties, and low friction coefficient and is self-healable after chemical damage on the surface. The easy and versatile method of fabricating liquid-like coatings with high durability has great potential for practical applications in numerous fields.

Synthesis of amphiphilic functional terpolymers towards preparation of high flux, anti-fouling, micropollutant-capturing ultrafiltration membranes

Traditional method for modification of PVC ultrafiltration membrane depends mainly on blending, but inevitably suffers from additive leakage and poor compatibility between components. Herein, we synthesized amphiphilic functional terpolymers with adjustable chemical structures through in-situ copolymerization of vinyl chloride, acrylonitrile, and dimethyl aminoethyl acrylate, subsequently prepared the terpolymer ultrafiltration membranes by non-solvent induced phase separation. The novel terpolymers endow the membranes with amphiphilic and pH-responsive performances. Compared with the blend membrane, the copolymer had the more stable covalent bonding, and then its hydrophilic segments could anchor and enrich stably to the membrane surface without diffusing into the aqueous phase. As a result, the copolymer membrane not only effectively overcame the disadvantages of blend membrane, but also showed excellent antifouling and permeable properties. Its water flux significantly increases to 469.41 L/(m2·h·bar) from 35.67 L/(m2·h·bar) of pure PVC membrane while the adsorption capacity for bovine serum proteins was reduced. Meanwhile, the copolymer membranes exhibited strong pH-dependent adsorption for anionic dyes and heavy metal ions. The maximum adsorption capacities occurred respectively at pH values of 3.5 and 6.0. In addition, the copolymer membrane can be regenerated by desorbing the adsorbed anionic dyes and heavy metal ions respectively at pH 10 and pH 3.5. This research provides a new strategy for facile preparation of amphiphilic functional ultrafiltration membranes and effective removal of micropollutants.

In-situ construction of modified layer on the surface of anion exchange membrane to improve antifouling performance

A new strategy combining electrodeposition with co-deposition modification was proposed to in-situ construct a stable antifouling modified layer on the AEM surface without disassembling the membrane stack. Specifically, dopamine (DA) was introduced into the electrodeposition process of poly (sodium 4-styrene sulfonate) (PSS) to co-deposit onto the AEM surface, in which the polymerization reaction could promote by supporting electrolyte (NaCl). The formation of cross-linked structure and π-π stacking effect during in-situ modification could ensure the stability of the modified layer. The in-situ modified AEM had a negatively charged and more hydrophilic surface, significantly improving the antifouling performance against organic matter (sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate) without affecting desalination performance. Moreover, it still had excellent antifouling properties after 96 h neutral rinsing. This work provided a novel approach for preventing organic fouling of AEM in ED process through surface modification.

Surface grafting of cellulose triacetate hollow fiber membranes with Ag@ZnO-hyperbranched polyglycerols nanoparticles for constructing antifouling and antibacterial surfaces

In recent years, using novel nanomaterials to improve the antifouling and antibacterial performance of reverse osmosis membranes has received much attention. In this study, hydrophilic Ag@ZnO-hyperbranched polyglycerols nanoparticles were fabricated by ring-opening multibranched polymerization of glycidyl acid with the core-shell Ag@ZnO nanoparticles. The cellulose triacetate composite membranes were prepared by grafting Ag@ZnO-HPGs nanoparticles on the surface of cellulose triacetate membranes. The surface of the nanoparticles with active functional group –OH was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Surface morphology, charge, and hydrophilicity of the composite membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscope, zeta potential, and contact angle analysis. The results showed that grafting the Ag@ZnO-HPGs nanoparticles onto the cellulose triacetate membrane surface improved the physical and chemical properties of the cellulose triacetate composite membranes. The water flux of cellulose triacetate composite membranes increased while the salt rejection rate to NaCl slightly decreased. Meanwhile, the cellulose triacetate composite membranes showed excellent antifouling properties of having a high flux recovery. The antibacterial performance of the cellulose triacetate composite membrane against E. coli and S. aureus was prominent that the antibacterial rates were 99.50% and 92.38%, and bacterial adhesion rates were as low as 19.12% and 21.35%, respectively.