Biofouling control of halloysite nanotubes-decorated polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membrane modified with chitosan-silver nanoparticles

Polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration membranes blending with halloysite nanotubes-chitosan-Ag nanoparticles (HNTs-CS@Ag) were developed for the effective biofouling control. HNTs-CS@Ag were synthesized by chemical modification of HNTs with chitosan, and then mixed with silver nitrate for complexing silver ions, finally silver nanoparticles were formed using sodium tetrahydroborate as reducing agent. The morphology and performance of the membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and contact angle. The hybrid membranes were shown to be more hydrophilic, with a higher pure water flux, as high as 375.6 L/(m(2) h), which was about 233.0% higher than that of the pure PES membrane. The antifouling test revealed that the hybrid membranes modified by HNTs-CS@Ag had a good antifouling performance. In addition, the antibacterial test indicated that the hybrid membrane had a good antibacterial activity, and the antibacterial rates against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were about 94.0% and 92.6%, respectively. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.