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. 2021 Mar 18;11(3):213.
doi: 10.3390/membranes11030213.

Antifouling and Flux Enhancement of Reverse Osmosis Membrane by Grafting Poly (3-Sulfopropyl Methacrylate) Brushes

Reema Mushtaq  1 , Muhammad Asad Abbas  1 , Shehla Mushtaq  1 , Nasir M Ahmad  1 , Niaz Ali Khan  2 , Asad U Khan  3 , Wu Hong  2 , Rehan Sadiq  4 , Zhongyi Jiang  2
Affiliations

Antifouling and Flux Enhancement of Reverse Osmosis Membrane by Grafting Poly (3-Sulfopropyl Methacrylate) Brushes

Reema Mushtaq et al. Membranes (Basel). .

Abstract

A commercial thin film composite (TFC) polyamide (PA) reverse osmosis membrane was grafted with 3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium (SPMK) to produce PA-g-SPMK by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The grafting of PA was done at varied concentrations of SPMK, and its effect on the surface composition and morphology was studied by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), optical profilometry, and contact angle analysis. The grafting of hydrophilic ionically charged PSPMK polymer brushes having acrylate and sulfonate groups resulted in enhanced hydrophilicity rendering a reduction of contact angle from 58° of pristine membrane sample labeled as MH0 to 10° for a modified membrane sample labeled as MH3. Due to the increased hydrophilicity, the flux rate rises from 57.1 L m-2 h-1 to 71.2 L m-2 h-1, and 99% resistance against microbial adhesion (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) was obtained for MH3 after modification.

Keywords: ATRP; E. Coli; PSMPK brushes; S. Aureus; TFC-PA RO membrane; antifouling; grafting.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Synthesis of polyamide (PA) g PSPMK brushes via ATRP.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Optical Microscopy of (a). Pristine membrane, (b) Thin film composite (TFC) PA-NH2, (c) TFC PA-Br, (d–f) Modified membranes TFC PA-PSPMK Brushes (MH1, MH2, MH3).
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) FTIR of Pristine TFC PA, TFC PA-NH2, and TFC-PA-Br; (b) FTIR of modified membranes MH1, MH2, and MH3.
Figure 4
Figure 4
SEM images of surface morphology (a) Pristine, (b) MH1, (c) MH2, (d) MH3, SEM cross-section (e) Pristine, (f) MH1, (g) MH2, (h) MH3.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Graph showing the average contact angle values and percentage of water retention content of membrane samples.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Graph showing the surface roughness values of all samples.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Permeation flux and salt rejection of pristine and modified membranes.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Antibacterial activity of PA g PSPMK Membranes against (A) E. coli and (B) S.aureus.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Graph showing inhibition zones against E. coli and S. aureus by pristine membrane and PSPMK-modified membranes.
Figure 10
Figure 10
SEM images of the membrane samples after immersion in bacterial suspension (a) Pristine membrane in E. coli (b)–(d). Modified membrane in E. coli suspension (e). Pristine membrane in S. aureus suspension (f)–(h). Modified membrane in S. aureus suspension.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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