Preparation and Characterization of AgNp/PVDF Cmposite Ultrafiltration Membrane

Abstract

In this study, polymeric ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were prepared by phase inversion method to obtain both antibacterial and organic antifouling properties. The membranes were cast from a solution of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and formative silver (Ag) nanoparticles were successfully immobilized on a polymer. This was done using a solvent N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) which is a solvent for the PVDF polymer meanwhile it is a reducing agent for silver ion. The effect of silver nanoparticles additives on the performance of polymeric ultrafiltration membrane was verified. Chemical composition and morphology of the surfaces of the membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The antibacterial property of modified membrane and the influence of silver nanoparticles on pure water flux of composite membrane at 0.2 Mpa were also verified. The experimental results obtained concluded that the composite membrane properties have been improved by the integration of Ag nanoparticles. The grafted membrane with silver nanoparticles has shown a clear ability to inhibit the growth of E. coli, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, and Bacillus Cereus. While the clean PVDF membrane (without any additives) did not show any effect of preventing the growth of these species of bacteria referred to above. The pure water flux, porosity and the mean pore size of composite membrane can reach 261.8 L/m² h, 85.4%, and 0.0206 µm, respectively, and it was much more than that of pure PVDF membrane.