Abstract
Silver-silica (Ag-SiO2) embedded in polyethersulfone (PES) composite membranes were prepared by adding different ratios of Ag-SiO2 in PES and designated as PES-Ag-SiO2-01 similar to PES-Ag-SiO2-05. The synthesized hybrid membranes were investigated to check the influence of Ag-SiO2 on the morphology, hydrophilicity, porosity, mechanical properties, water permeability, bovine serum albumin (BSA) separation, nitrophenol adsorption and antibacterial characteristics of the hybrid membranes. The inclusion of Ag-SiO2 enhanced the porosity of PES hybrid membranes (79% similar to 84.7%) and as result, the hybrid membranes exhibited lower mechanical properties comparative to PES membranes. However, the hydrophilicity of the PES hybrid membranes was enhanced by adding Ag-SiO2 nanoparticles causing a gradual decrease in contact angle (73.4 degrees to 58.8 degrees). The hybrid membranes displayed higher water permeability and nitrophenol adsorption as compared to pure PES and furthermore these properties were enhanced by increasing Ag-SiO2 content in the PES hybrid membrane. The hybrid membrane with higher contents of Ag-SiO2 showed a water flux of 127.7 L/hm(2) which is much greater than pure PES membrane (73.30 L/hm(2)). In addition, the PES hybrid membrane exhibited a strong BSA rejection and PES-Ag-SiO2-04 showed a maximum BSA rejection (91%). The incorporation of Ag-SiO2 nanoparticles improved the antimicrobial activity of the membranes which strongly depend on the contents of nanoparticles.