ItemArticle

Silvergraphene composite: a coating on polyethersulfone membrane for superior water purification with antibacterial, catalytic and antifouling properties

Title
Silvergraphene composite: a coating on polyethersulfone membrane for superior water purification with antibacterial, catalytic and antifouling properties
Creator
Jose, Jephin K.; Mishra, Biswajit; Jayaram, Saranya; Tripathi, Bijay P.; Sarojini, Suma; Cherian, Christie Thomas; Balachandran, Manoj
Description
Membrane fouling, originating from a diverse range of sources such as organic matter, inorganic particulates, biological agents, and industrial contaminants, continues to pose a significant challenge in water purification processes. This fouling results from complex nonspecific interactions between the membrane surface and foulants, leading to a substantial decline in filtration performance, including reduced permeability, selectivity, and operational lifespan. To address these limitations, there is an urgent need to engineer advanced membranes with integrated antibacterial, catalytic, and antifouling functionalities to enable efficient and sustainable water treatment. In this context, we developed an innovative approach to mitigate membrane fouling of polyethersulfone (PES) membrane by coating with silver-decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO). This coating imparts exceptional antibacterial efficacy, catalytic dye degradation properties, antifouling performance and remarkable filtration capacity to the PES membrane. The antibacterial assessments conducted against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aures) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria revealed that increasing concentrations of silver in rGO composites resulted in a pronounced inhibitory effect on bacterial growth, with the most significant activity observed for membranes with higher silver loadings (rGO A500). Moreover, catalytic studies performed on the rGO A500 membrane emphasize the degradation of Congo Red, Methyl-Orange, and as well as the conversion of Nitrophenol to Aminophenol, occurring within 46min, 25min, and 23min, respectively. Furthermore, the rGO A500 membrane exhibits notable antifouling properties, evidenced by a flux recovery ratio of 98% and a minimal irreversible fouling ratio of 1.7% during Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) protein filtration. Additionally, the composite membrane demonstrates an impressive water flux of 50 L m?2h?1 along with dye rejection efficiency of 92% for Congo Red, 86% for Rhodamine-B, and 81% for Methylene Blue. Overall, the findings underscore the multifunctional performance of the rGO A500 composite membrane, showcasing its antibacterial, catalytic and antifouling capabilities, and positioning it as a robust and practical solution for next-generation wastewater treatment technologies. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025.
Source
Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy;Volume;27;Issue;11;pp.6129-6147
Date
01-01-2025
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Subject
Catalytic degradation; Membrane filtration; rGOsilver composite; Self-cleaning membranes; Water flux
Coverage
Jose J.K., Department of Physics and Electronics, Christ University, Karnataka, Bangalore, 560029, India; Mishra B., Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, Hauz Khas, 110016, India; Jayaram S., Department of Life Sciences, Christ University, Karnataka, Bangalore, 560029, India; Tripathi B.P., Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, Hauz Khas, 110016, India; Sarojini S., Department of Life Sciences, Christ University, Karnataka, Bangalore, 560029, India; Cherian C.T., School of Electronics System and Automation, Digital University Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, 695317, India; Balachandran M., Department of Physics and Electronics, Christ University, Karnataka, Bangalore, 560029, India
Rights
Restricted Access; Hardcopy may be available in the library
Relation
ISSN: 1618954X;
Format
online
Language
English
Type
Article

Citation

Jose, Jephin K.; Mishra, Biswajit; Jayaram, Saranya; Tripathi, Bijay P.; Sarojini, Suma; Cherian, Christie Thomas; Balachandran, Manoj, “Silvergraphene composite: a coating on polyethersulfone membrane for superior water purification with antibacterial, catalytic and antifouling properties,” CHRIST (Deemed To Be University) Institutional Repository, accessed June 17, 2026, https://archives.christuniversity.in/items/show/21860.

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