Experimental and theoretical investigations on fouling resistant cellulose acetate/SiO2 NPs/PEDOT ultrafiltration nanocomposite membranes

In the current work, we report the fabrication of a new fouling resistant ultrafiltration (UF) nanocomposite membranes by incorporating silicon oxide nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) and poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) into cellulose acetate (CA) matrix, taking advantage of the abundant surface-terminating groups on CA, SiO2 NPs, and PEDOT. The characteristics of the prepared materials and membranes were assessed experimentally and theoretically using molecular modeling concepts. The molecular modeling study manifested the stability of the proposed membrane structure which appeared to be slightly positive and had affinity to electrophilic addition reactions. The fabricated membranes exhibited both high flux and high bovine serum albumin (BSA) separation, ∼145 LMH/bar and 90%, respectively, as well as high fouling-resistant standards. Hence, it offers better solution in terms of performance, fouling, permeate quality, and longevity. Enhanced performance results were due to improving a range of membrane characteristic. Incorporation of PEDOT into CA matrix improved the hydrophilicity, porosity and fouling resistant of the nanocomposite membrane. Overall, this study opens an avenue for utilizing the biodegradable CA for the fabrication of robust UF nanocomposite membranes that do not need intensive physical and chemical cleaning which makes membrane technology more appealing for practical applications.