Dual Functions of a Au@AgNP-Incorporated Nanocomposite Desalination Membrane with an Enhanced Antifouling Property and Fouling Detection Via Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Abstract

Membrane fouling has remained a major challenge limiting the wide application of membrane technology because it reduces the efficiency and shortens the lifespan of the membrane, thus increasing the operation cost. Herein we report a novel dual-function nanocomposite membrane incorporating silver-coated gold nanoparticles (Au@AgNPs) into a sulfosuccinic acid (SSA) cross-linked poly­(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membrane for a pervaporation desalination. Compared with the control PVA membrane and PVA/SSA membrane, the Au@AgNPs/PVA/SSA membrane demonstrated a higher water flux and better salt rejection as well as an enhanced antifouling property. More importantly, Au@AgNPs provided an additional function enabling a foulant detection on the membrane surface via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) as Au@AgNPs could amplify the Raman signals as an SERS substrate. Distinct SERS spectra given by a fouled membrane helped to distinguish different protein foulants from their characteristic fingerprint peaks. Their fouling tendency on the membrane was also revealed by comparing the SERS intensities of mixed foulants on the membrane surface. The Au@AgNPs/PVA/SSA nanocomposite membrane presented here demonstrated the possibility of a multifunction membrane to achieve both antifouling and fouling detection, which could potentially be used in water treatment.

Advanced Polymeric Nanocomposite Membranes for Water and Wastewater Treatment: A Comprehensive Review

“…This paved the way for the exploration of nanomaterials to generate unique morphologies for preferential water flow and excellent salt rejection. Incorporation of NPs in TFNC contributes to the enhancement of membrane properties such as enhanced hydrophilicity, water permeability/flux, excellent salt rejection, removal of organic and inorganic contaminants, and enhanced resistance to chlorine and fouling [ 41 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 ]. TFNC polymeric membranes have drawn considerable attention in the past decade (as shown in Figure 3 ).…”