Hydrophilic and antimicrobial core-shell nanoparticles containing guanidine groups for ultrafiltration membrane...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Ultrafiltration (UF) membranes are crucial for water purification.
• Improving water flux and antifouling properties of UF membranes is a key challenge.
• Physical blending is a common method to modify membrane performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize novel core-shell nanoparticles for UF membrane fabrication.
• To enhance the hydrophilicity, water flux, and antifouling properties of polyethersulfone (PES) membranes.
• To evaluate the performance of hybrid PES membranes incorporating functionalized nanoparticles.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of poly(guanidine-hexamethylenediamine-PEI) (poly(GHPEI)) grafted silica nanoparticles (SNP@PG).
• Fabrication of hybrid UF membranes using polyethersulfone (PES) and SNP@PG via phase inversion.
• Characterization of membrane composition, morphology, hydrophilicity, water flux, and protein rejection.

Main Results:

• The synthesized SNP@PG nanoparticles are hydrophilic and antimicrobial.
• The hybrid PES/SNP@PG membrane demonstrated a 2.6-fold increase in water flux compared to the pristine PES membrane.
• The hybrid membrane exhibited excellent resistance to both organic and biofouling.

Conclusions:

• The incorporation of SNP@PG nanoparticles effectively enhances UF membrane performance.
• The novel hybrid membranes offer improved water flux and superior antifouling capabilities.
• This approach presents a promising strategy for developing advanced UF membranes for water treatment.