Recent advances in the development of (bio)fouling resistant thin film composite membranes for desalination

Membrane (bio)fouling is a major obstacle to many separation and purification processes. Due to the inherent physicochemical properties of some thin film composite membrane surfaces such as polyamide, these are prone to (bio)fouling. Hence, this review highlights recent advances in the design and development of highly resistant thin film composite membrane through surface modification by either coating or grafting with antifouling polymers and/or antimicrobial polymers/biocidal inorganic nanoparticles. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.