Fitri Khoerunnisa, Widda Rahmah, Boon Seng Ooi, Elsa Dwihermiati, Nisa Nashrah, Siti Fatimah, Young Gun Ko, Eng-Poh Ng
Bacterial adherence on solid surface causes biofilm and biofouling where it remains as a critical issue in ultrafiltration membrane technology. Herein, a promising strategy to combat this problem via surface functionalization with iodine on chitosan biopolymeric composite membranes is reported. The Chitosan/PEG/MWCNT/Iodine membranes (PEG: polyethylene glycol, MWCNT: multi-walled carbon nanotubes) were prepared through three simple steps, namely mixing of membrane precursor solutions, membrane casting and incorporation of iodine via phase inversion technique. The microscopy and spectroscopy results revealed that enhanced interactions of iodine (0.10-0.31 wt.%) with membrane matrix via hydrogen bonding networks had successfully improved the membrane properties and performance. Furthermore, significant change in morphological property of membranes (e.g. surface roughness) upon the addition of iodine led to the enhancement of membrane hydrophilicity (contact angle from 70.3° up to 59.3°), porosity (average pore radius from 13.3 nm up to 23.2 nm), and mechanical strength (Young modulus from 6138.6 MPa up to 7824.9 MPa). The composite membranes exhibited superior antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) even at very low iodine concentration (0.31 wt.%) with bacteria killing ratio of up to 99.2% and 100% for E. Coli and S. Aureus bacteria, respectively. The composite membranes also demonstrated improved permeability (flux up to 212.8 and 220.4 L m-2h-1) and selectivity (dye rejection up to 83.7% and 65.4%) in both dead-end and cross-flow ultrafiltration systems, respectively, thanks to the improved hydrophilicity, porosity and surface negative charge of the membranes. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Department of Chemistry, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Setiabudhi 229, Bandung, 40154, Indonesia; Department of Chemical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Ganesha 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia; School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Nibong Tebal, Penang, 14300, Malaysia; School of Material Science and Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 38541, South Korea; School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, USM, Penang, 11800, Malaysia
Research at a Glance
Register to unlock
Topics & SDG Alignment
Register to unlock
Collaboration
Register to unlock
Author Profile (Selected)
Register to unlock
References Overview
Register to unlock
Journal & Source
Register to unlock
Metadata & Integrity
Register to unlock