Fabrication of antibacterial mixed matrix nanocomposite membranes using hybrid nanostructure of silver coated multi-walled carbon nanotubes

The function of separation membranes can be significantly improved by the integration of nanoparticles that can improve not only the mechanical properties of the membrane but also reduce the propensity of the surface to foul. The research of the paper presents the development of a novel nanocomposite membrane incorporating antimicrobial nanoparticles which have the potential to lower membrane biofouling; a major problem in many industries that exploit membrane technology. Antibacterial hybrid nanostructures (HNS) comprising of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) coated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were successfully synthesized via a facile and rapid method using a microwave treatment. The HNS were incorporated into polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes via the classical phase inversion technique in order to assess their antimicrobial properties against two bacterial species; E. coli and S. aureus. Different techniques were used to characterize HNS powders and a number of loading weights of the HNS were blended with PES flakes to assess the resultant nanocomposite membranes. The nanocomposite membranes displayed an increase in their antibacterial activity against the two species with increasing the loading weight of HNS.