Characterization of PVDF/Graphene Nanocomposite Membranes for Water Desalination with Enhanced Antifungal Activity
Emilia Gontarek-Castro,
Maria Krystyna Rybarczyk,
Roberto Castro-Muñoz,
Monica Morales-Jiménez,
Blanca Barragán-Huerta,
Marek Lieder
Affiliations
Emilia Gontarek-Castro
Department of Process Engineering and Chemical Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 G. Narutowicza St., 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
Maria Krystyna Rybarczyk
Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Lublin University of Technology, 40 Nadbystrzycka St., 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Roberto Castro-Muñoz
Department of Process Engineering and Chemical Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 G. Narutowicza St., 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
Monica Morales-Jiménez
Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Avenida Wilfrido Massieu s/n, Unidad Profesional Adolfo López Mateos, Mexico City 07738, Mexico
Blanca Barragán-Huerta
Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Avenida Wilfrido Massieu s/n, Unidad Profesional Adolfo López Mateos, Mexico City 07738, Mexico
Marek Lieder
Department of Process Engineering and Chemical Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 G. Narutowicza St., 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
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.
