Enhancing antibiofouling performance of Polysulfone (PSf) membrane by photo-grafting of capsaicin derivative and acrylic acid

Biofouling is a critical issue in membrane water and wastewater treatment. Herein, antibiofouling PSf membrane was prepared by UV-assisted graft polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) and a capsaicin derivative, N-(5-methyl-3-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy benzyl) acrylamide (MBHBA), on PSf membrane. AA and MBHBA were used as hydrophilic monomer and antibacterial monomer separately. The membranes were characterized by FTIR-ATR, contact angle, SEM, AFM, cross-flow filtration unit, antifouling and antibacterial measurements. Verification of MBHBA and AA that photo-chemically grafted onto the PSf membrane surface is confirmed by carbonyl stretching vibration at ∼1655 cm−1 and ∼1730 cm−1, separately. The increasing AA concentration accelerates the graft-polymerization of MBHBA and resulted in a more hydrophilic surface. Consequently, antifouling property of the membranes was improved on a large level. The flux recovery rate can achieve 100% during the cyclic test, which may be attributed to the more hydrophilic and smooth surface, as well as the decreased membrane pore size. Most importantly, the presence of AA in graft co-polymer does not affect the antibacterial activity of MBHBA. That may be induced by the increasing chain length and flexibility of the grafted polymer chains.