Nanostructured membranes for enzyme catalysis and green synthesis of nanoparticles

Macroporous membranes functionalized with ionizable macromolecules provide promising applications in high capacity toxic metal capture, nanoparticle syntheses, and catalysis. Our low-pressure membrane approach has good reaction and separation selectivities, which are tunable by varying pH, ionic strength, or pressure. The sustainable green chemistry approach under ambient conditions and the evaluation of a reactive poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)-modified polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane is described. Two distinct membrane types were obtained through different methods: 1) a stacked membrane through layer-by-layer assembly for the incorporation of enzymes (catalase and glucose oxidase), providing tunable product yields and 2) Fe/Pd nanoparticles for degradation of pollutants, obtained through an in situ green synthesis. Bioreactor-nanodomain interactions and mixed matrix nanocomposite membranes provide remarkable versatility compared to conventional membranes.