A continuous porous porphyrinic polymer thin-film composite membrane for anti-biofouling and molecular sieving

Abstract

Biofouling has long been a challenging issue for nanofiltration. One practical strategy to address this issue is the development and utilization of novel anti-biofouling membranes. In this contribution, a novel thin-film composite nanofiltration membrane was prepared through the interfacial polymerisation of 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-aminophenyl) porphyrin (TAPP) featuring antibacterial properties under visible light with terephthaloyl chloride (TPC) on a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ultrafiltration membrane, which was exchanged with deionised water to afford a complete polyamide film. The resultant TAPP_n-TPC/PAN membrane displayed high antimicrobial activity under visible light, with an antimicrobial efficiency of 99.3% for E. coli and 85.9% for S. aureus. Moreover, it exhibited enhanced molecular sieving properties at approximately 400 Da to 600 Da. Furthermore, the membrane was transferable to any substrate, and its area was adjustable. This work suggests a new approach for the large-scale fabrication of novel self-cleaning membranes with anti-biofouling feature for applications in actual water treatments.