Integrated antimicrobial and antifouling ultrafiltration membrane by surface grafting PEO and N-chloramine functional groups.

Ultrafiltration membranes with integrated antimicrobial and antifouling properties were fabricated using an engineering thermoplastic (carboxylated cardopoly(aryl ether ketone, PEK-COOH). Different molecular weights of PEO (Mw: 120, 350, 550) were grafted to the PEK-COOH membrane surface via EDC/NHS methodology. N-chloramine modified membranes then were prepared by simple exposure to dilute sodium hypochlorite solution. The surface grafting processes were all performed in water (i.e. without organic solvent). With this surface modification, the hydrophilicity of membranes improved significantly and the pure water flux increased compared to the unmodified PEK-COOH membrane. Furthermore, the PEO and N-chloramine modified membranes were resistant not only to both protein adsorption and bacterial adhesion, but also to microbial proliferation. The results of this work suggest that PEO and N-chloramine modified membranes are promising as fouling-resistant membranes.