Anti-bacterial properties of ultrafiltration membrane modified by graphene oxide with nano-silver particles

To improve the anti-biofouling properties of PVDF membranes, GO-Ag composites were synthesized and used as membrane antibacterial agent by a simple and environmentally friendly method. As identified by XRD, TEM and FTIR analysis, AgNPs were uniformly assembled on the synthesized GO-Ag sheets. The membranes were prepared by phase inversion method with different additional amounts (0.00-0.15wt%) of GO-Ag composites. The GO-Ag composites modified membranes show improved hydrophilicity, mechanical property and permeability than unmodified PVDF membrane. Specially, the antibacterial properties and inhibition of biofilm formation were greatly enhanced based on conventional inhibition zone test and anti-adhesion of bacterial experiment. The modified membranes also reveal a remarkable long-term continuous antimicrobial activity with slower release rate of Ag⁺ compared to AgNPs/PVDF membrane.