Antibiofouling polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes via surface grafting of capsaicin derivatives

Biofouling is a critical issue in the membrane separation process as it can increase the operational cost by lower down membrane permeability. Covalent binding of an antibacterial agent on the membrane surface to kill microorganisms to hinder biofouling formation process draws great attention. In this study, we used three kinds of capsaicin derivatives, MBHBA, HMBA, and HMOBA, to fabricate antibiofouling membrane via UV-assisted photo grafting method. The influence of these capsaicin derivatives on membrane properties was investigated and compared. The results suggest that HMBA showed the best UV activity, followed by HMOBA and MBHBA successively. Due to the difference of functional groups among capsaicin derivatives, there is an increase in membrane wettability of HMBA and HMOBA-modified membranes, while there is a decrease for MBHBA-modified membrane. MBHBA-modified membrane showed enhanced irreversible fouling, which is in contrast to that of HMBA- and HMOBA-modified membranes. The modified membranes showed similar antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli. The practicability of the modified membranes was examined by dipping them into tap water and seawater for 30 days, and the results displayed the modified surfaces have the potential to relieve biofouling for separation membranes.