Synthesis of Antibacterial Nanofibrous Membrane Based on Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/Chitosan by Electrospinning Technique for Water Purification Application

An antibacterial nanofibrous membrane has been successfully synthesized using electrospinning method. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) was used as the primary material due to its beneficial properties: great spinnability and insolubility in water, allowing potential application in water purification. Chitosan was composited in the fiber structure and was expected to inhibit bacterial growth on the membrane surface as a consequence of biofouling. Various Chitosan amounts were used with the following mass ratio of PAN/Chitosan: 20/1, 10/1, and 5/1. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was performed to assess morphology and diameter of the nanofibrous membrane. Flux test was carried out on all membrane variation in comparison with membrane filter for High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) as the reference. Filtration efficiency of the membranes was performed towards suspension containing P. aeruginosa and S. epidermidis with respective concentration of 3.02 × 10 7 and 2.89 × 10 7 cell/mL. SEM analysis showed uniform strands of PAN fiber composited with Chitosan particles. PAN/Chitosan membrane demonstrated ability to reduce bacterial concentration following the filtration process. Significant decrease of bacterial concentration resulted from filtration using PAN/Chitosan membrane was obtained. In addition, characterization and analysis of filtration efficiency indicated that PAN/Chitosan nanofibrous membrane would be suitable for applications of water purification with antibacterial activity.