Fabrication of antimicrobial polyethersulfone microfiltration membranes by corona plasma-assisted coating of silver nanoparticles

Abstract

In this work, antimicrobial polyethersulfone (PES) membranes were fabricated by coupling of corona treatment and coating silver nanoparticles for use in the microfiltration of milk in order to reduce its microbial content. For this purpose, the microfiltration membranes were prepared by vapor-induced phase inversion coupled with a nonsolvent-induced phase inversion technique and the surface of the membranes were modified by corona air plasma under various operating conditions. Finally, the silver nanoparticles were coated on the surface of the corona treated PES membrane via a dip coating technique. The separation performance, antimicrobial properties and biofouling resistance of the silver coated membranes were evaluated in the microfiltration of skim milk. The results indicated that the exposure time and applied power of the corona treatment had significant effects on the surface modification of the PES membranes and affected the antimicrobial and anti-biofouling activities of the prepared membranes. Also, the amount of silver coated on the membrane surface and the silver ion released during the microfiltration process depended on the corona treatment conditions. The silver coated membranes showed high antimicrobial activity which resulted in anti-biofouling properties and higher separation performance than the neat PES microfiltration membrane.