Characterization of PVDF/Graphene Nanocomposite Membranes for Water Desalination with Enhanced Antifungal Activity

Abstract

Seawater desalination is a worldwide concern for the sustainable production of drinking water. In this regard, membrane distillation (MD) has shown the potential for effective brine treatment. However, the lack of appropriate MD membranes limits its industrial expansion since they experience fouling and wetting issues. Therefore, hydrophobic membranes are promising candidates to successfully deal with such phenomena that are typical for commercially available membranes. Here, several graphene/polyvinylidene (PVDF_G) membranes with different graphene loading (0–10 wt%) were prepared through a phase inversion method. After full characterization of the resulting membranes, the surface revealed that the well-dispersed graphene in the polymer matrix (0.33 and 0.5 wt% graphene loading) led to excellent water repellence together with a rough structure, and a large effective surface area. Importantly, antifungal activity tests of films indicated an increase in the inhibition percentage for PVDF_G membranes against the Curvularia sp. fungal strain. However, the antifungal surface properties were found to be the synergistic result of graphene toxicity and surface topography.

Nanoparticle-Enhanced β-Phase Formation in Electroactive PVDF Composites: A Review of Systems for Applications in Energy Harvesting, EMI Shielding, and Membrane Technology

“…Gontarek-Castro et al 148 used graphene nanosheets for fabricating PVDF/graphene nanocomposites and employed the nanocomposites in water desalination. They varied the amount of graphene nanosheets in the PVDF matrix and observed that the composites with 0.33 and 0.5 wt % of graphene nanosheets showed excellent water repellency.…”

Emerging Trends and Future Direction of Graphene Family of Materials as Potential Antimicrobials: A Critical Review

“…Liu et al reported that GO dispersion displays the most effective inhibitory effect against E. coli cells by wrapping around bacterial cells more easily than agglomerated GO derivatives . Additionally, a recent study by Gontarek-Castro et al concluded that well dispersed graphene nanoplatelets (0.5 wt %) incorporated in a PVDF membrane matrix exhibit the highest fungal inhibition against Curvularia sp . Therefore, proper dispersibility of Gfam should be prioritized since it highlights Gfam’s dose-dependent effect.…”

“…72 Additionally, a recent study by Gontarek-Castro et al concluded that well dispersed graphene nanoplatelets (0.5 wt %) incorporated in a PVDF membrane matrix exhibit the highest fungal inhibition against Curvularia sp. 115 Therefore, proper dispersibility of Gfam should be prioritized since it highlights Gfam's dose-dependent effect.…”

Modification of a MoS2 composite membrane using nano-silica for high-efficiency dye separation

“…In addition, some composite membranes filled with nanoparticles can be applied in other areas of separation, such as pervaporation, 60,61 water desalination 62 and water purification, 63 indicating that the formulation of the membrane composite is important for learning its practical value and application.…”