Preparation of dendrimer/TiO2 polysulfone nanofiltration membrane to improve antibacterial, antifouling and separation performance of contaminants (heavy metals, salts, dyes)

Modification of polysulfone nanofiltration membranes with the integration of titanium dioxide (TiO2)/dendrimer was performed to investigate their performance in the removal of some kinds of impurities from water solutions, separately. Also, the antibacterial properties of the membranes were studied in a laboratory scale. Membrane preparation was performed by interfacial polymerization method. TiO 2 nanoparticles were integrated into the membranes at different contents of 0%, 0.1%, 0.5% and 1 wt.% coded M0, M1, M2 and M3, respectively. The membranes were characterized by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electronic microscopy, atomic force microscope, X-ray diffraction and water contact angle test. The performance of different membranes to remove heavy metals: strontium (Sr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and cobalt (Co), and salts: sodium chloride (NaCl), sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and potassium nitrate (KNO3), and also dyes: scientist yellow and malachite green in aqueous solutions was investigated. Results showed that the modified membrane of M2 had the best performance compared to other membranes, which can be according to the better distribution of nanoparticles into the membrane surface. Result also showed that the higher content of TiO2 modified with dendrimer, the greater antibacterial properties of nanofiltration membranes. Graphical abstract