• 文献标题:   Characterization of PVDF/Graphene Nanocomposite Membranes for Water Desalination with Enhanced Antifungal Activity
  • 文献类型:   Article
  • 作  者:   GONTAREKCASTRO E, RYBARCZYK MK, CASTROMUNOZ R, MORALESJIMENEZ M, BARRAGANHUERTA B, LIEDER M
  • 作者关键词:   membrane distillation, graphene, membrane, antifungal activity
  • 出版物名称:   WATER
  • ISSN:  
  • 通讯作者地址:  
  • 被引频次:   24
  • DOI:   10.3390/w13091279
  • 出版年:   2021

▎ 摘  要

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.