Affiliations 

  • 1 Center for Membranes and Advanced Water Technology (CMAT), Khalifa University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Department of Chemical Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
  • 2 Center for Membranes and Advanced Water Technology (CMAT), Khalifa University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
  • 3 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam, 638401, Tamilnadu, India; Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
  • 4 Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
  • 5 Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre (AMTEC), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
  • 6 Center for Membranes and Advanced Water Technology (CMAT), Khalifa University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Department of Chemical Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: shadi.hasan@ku.ac.ae
Chemosphere, 2022 Feb;289:133144.
PMID: 34863730 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133144

Abstract

An enhanced water flux and anti-fouling nanocomposite ultrafiltration membrane based on quaternary ammoniumpropylated polysilsesquioxane (QAPS)/cellulose acetate (QAPS@CA) was fabricated by in situ sol-gel processing via phase inversion followed by quaternization with methyl iodide (CH3I). Membrane characterizations were performed based on the contact angle, FTIR, SEM, and TGA properties. Membrane separation performance was assessed in terms of pure water flux, rejection, and fouling resistance. The 7%QAPS@CA nanocomposite membrane showed an increased wettability (46.6° water contact angle), water uptake (113%) and a high pure water permeability of ∼370 L m-2 h-1 bar-1. Furthermore, the 7%QAPS@CA nanocomposite membrane exhibited excellent bactericidal properties (∼97.5% growth inhibition) against Escherichia coli (E. coli) compared to the bare CA membrane (0% growth inhibition). The 7%QAPS@CA nanocomposite membrane can be recommended for water treatment and biomedical applications.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.