Complexation of tannic acid/silver nanoparticles on polyamide thin film composite reverse osmosis membrane for enhanced chlorine resistance and anti-biofouling properties

Reverse osmosis (RO) is a well-established and reliable desalination method that has been widely implemented on a commercial scale to resolve water scarcity issues. Constant efforts have been made to develop thin film composite membranes that can strike a balance between selectivity and permeability, while maintaining high durability towards fouling and chlorine attack. In this work, the surface of thin film composite RO membrane was modified by complexing tannic acid (TA) and silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). TA was used for enhancing the chlorine resistance while Ag NPs act as a biocide to mitigate biofouling. Upon the formation of PA layer through interfacial polymerization, TA was chemically grafted, proceeded by in-situ reduction of Ag NPs. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image revealed that Ag NPs were deposited on top of the TA-PA interlayer and reduced as discrete spherical Ag NPs with diameter <15 nm. The greatest flux of 20.57 L/m2·h was produced by TFC-TA/Ag1, representing a 60 % improvement as compared to neat TFC membrane. The NaCl rejection of TFC-TA membrane was 97.83 %, which was slightly increased compared to neat TFC membrane with rejection of 95.14 %. Improved chlorine resistance and improved antibacterial properties against Gram-positive bacteria (S. aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli) were witnessed for the TFC-TA/Ag1 membranes. This study demonstrates a facile chemical grafting and deposition to introduce multiple functionalities for improving the physical and separation properties of TFC RO membrane.