Enhancement of surface properties and performance of reverse osmosis membranes after surface modification: A review

Membrane fouling depends strongly on membrane surface morphology and properties. Up to now, many physical or chemical surface modifications have been reported to alter the surface properties so as to improve the fouling resistance of the RO membranes. In this paper, different kinds of RO membranes fouling, chlorine effects, factors that influence RO membranes fouling, and the ways for reduction of fouling in RO membranes were discussed. Moreover, as a main part of this paper, all physical and chemical surface modification methods for fabricated polyamide TFC RO membranes were completely reviewed.