Improvement of Antifouling and Antimicrobial Abilities on Silver–Carbon Nanotube Based Membranes under Electrochemical Assistance

Excellent fouling resistance to various foulants is crucial to maintain the separation performance of membranes in providing potable water. Antimicrobial modification is effective for antibiofouling but fails to mitigate organic fouling. Improving surface charges can improve the resistance to charged foulants, but the lack of antimicrobial ability results in bacterial aggregation. Herein, a silver nanoparticle modified carbon nanotube (Ag-CNT)/ceramic membrane was prepared with enhanced antifouling and antimicrobial properties under electrochemical assistance. The presence of silver nanoparticles endows the composite membrane with antimicrobial ability by which biofilm formation is inhibited. Its steady-state flux is 1.9 times higher than that for an unmodified membrane in filtering bacterial suspension. Although the formation of organic fouling did weaken the biofouling resistance, the negatively charged bacteria and organic matter can be sufficiently repelled away from the cathodic membrane under electr...