Fabrication and separation performance of polyethersulfone/sulfonated TiO2 (PES-STiO2) ultrafiltration membranes for fouling mitigation

Polyethersulfone (PES)/sulfonated TiO2 (STiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) UF blended membranes were fabricated with different loadings of STiO2. The modified membranes exhibited significant improvement in surface roughness, porosity, and pore size when compared to the PES membrane. The P-STiO2 1 and P-TiO2 1 blended membranes exhibited higher water flux, approximately 102.4% and 62.6%, respectively, compared to PES. SPP-STiO2 and P-STiO2 showed lower Rir fouling resistance than the P-TiO2 blended membrane. Overall, the STiO2-blended membranes provide high hydrophilicity permeability, antifouling performance, and improved BSA rejection attributed to the hydrogen bonding force and more electrostatic repulsion properties of STiO2. (C) 2018 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.