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<p>Membrane fouling, originating from a diverse range of sources such as organic matter, inorganic particulates, biological agents, and industrial contaminants, continues to pose a significant challenge in water purification processes. This fouling results from complex nonspecific interactions between the membrane surface and foulants, leading to a substantial decline in filtration performance, including reduced permeability, selectivity, and operational lifespan. To address these limitations, there is an urgent need to engineer advanced membranes with integrated antibacterial, catalytic, and antifouling functionalities to enable efficient and sustainable water treatment. In this context, we developed an innovative approach to mitigate membrane fouling of polyethersulfone (PES) membrane by coating with silver-decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO). This coating imparts exceptional antibacterial efficacy, catalytic dye degradation properties, antifouling performance and remarkable filtration capacity to the PES membrane. The antibacterial assessments conducted against <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (<i>S. aures</i>) and <i>Escherichia coli</i> (<i>E. coli</i>) bacteria revealed that increasing concentrations of silver in rGO composites resulted in a pronounced inhibitory effect on bacterial growth, with the most significant activity observed for membranes with higher silver loadings (rGO A500). Moreover, catalytic studies performed on the rGO A500 membrane emphasize the degradation of Congo Red, Methyl-Orange, and as well as the conversion of Nitrophenol to Aminophenol, occurring within 46&#xa0;min, 25&#xa0;min, and 23&#xa0;min, respectively. Furthermore, the rGO A500 membrane exhibits notable antifouling properties, evidenced by a flux recovery ratio of 98% and a minimal irreversible fouling ratio of 1.7% during Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) protein filtration. Additionally, the composite membrane demonstrates an impressive water flux of 50 L m⁻<sup>2</sup>&#xa0;h⁻<sup>1</sup> along with dye rejection efficiency of 92% for Congo Red, 86% for Rhodamine-B, and 81% for Methylene Blue. Overall, the findings underscore the multifunctional performance of the rGO A500 composite membrane, showcasing its antibacterial, catalytic and antifouling capabilities, and positioning it as a robust and practical solution for next-generation wastewater treatment technologies.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>

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Silver–graphene composite: a coating on polyethersulfone membrane for superior water purification with antibacterial, catalytic and antifouling properties

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年6月4日

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  • Jephin K. Jose,
  • Biswajit Mishra,
  • Saranya Jayaram,
  • Bijay P. Tripathi,
  • Suma Sarojini,
  • Christie Thomas Cherian,
  • Manoj Balachandran

摘要

Membrane fouling, originating from a diverse range of sources such as organic matter, inorganic particulates, biological agents, and industrial contaminants, continues to pose a significant challenge in water purification processes. This fouling results from complex nonspecific interactions between the membrane surface and foulants, leading to a substantial decline in filtration performance, including reduced permeability, selectivity, and operational lifespan. To address these limitations, there is an urgent need to engineer advanced membranes with integrated antibacterial, catalytic, and antifouling functionalities to enable efficient and sustainable water treatment. In this context, we developed an innovative approach to mitigate membrane fouling of polyethersulfone (PES) membrane by coating with silver-decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO). This coating imparts exceptional antibacterial efficacy, catalytic dye degradation properties, antifouling performance and remarkable filtration capacity to the PES membrane. The antibacterial assessments conducted against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aures) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria revealed that increasing concentrations of silver in rGO composites resulted in a pronounced inhibitory effect on bacterial growth, with the most significant activity observed for membranes with higher silver loadings (rGO A500). Moreover, catalytic studies performed on the rGO A500 membrane emphasize the degradation of Congo Red, Methyl-Orange, and as well as the conversion of Nitrophenol to Aminophenol, occurring within 46 min, 25 min, and 23 min, respectively. Furthermore, the rGO A500 membrane exhibits notable antifouling properties, evidenced by a flux recovery ratio of 98% and a minimal irreversible fouling ratio of 1.7% during Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) protein filtration. Additionally, the composite membrane demonstrates an impressive water flux of 50 L m⁻2 h⁻1 along with dye rejection efficiency of 92% for Congo Red, 86% for Rhodamine-B, and 81% for Methylene Blue. Overall, the findings underscore the multifunctional performance of the rGO A500 composite membrane, showcasing its antibacterial, catalytic and antifouling capabilities, and positioning it as a robust and practical solution for next-generation wastewater treatment technologies.

Graphical abstract