Nanofiltration membrane with surface nanostructure induced by interfacial modification for heavy metal ions removal, salt selection and antibacterial

Positively charged nanofiltration membranes offer promising options for the removal of heavy metal ions. However, their electrical properties often lead to serious drawbacks such as impaired filtration performance and poor fouling resistance, thus further modification of these positively charged membranes are imperative. Herein, we report the interfacial manipulation of nanofiltration membranes using a hydroxyl monomer (β-cyclodextrin) in concert with the typical positively charged ammonia monomer (polyethyleneimine) to achieve efficient removal of heavy metals, improved perm-selectivity and fouling resistance. The results indicated that water flux of the modified membrane was increased by over 2-folds owing to structural modification compared with pristine membrane. The charge effects and enhanced cross-linking improve the rejection of salts ions, especially divalent ions. The topological and Turing-structured membranes reached 99.9% removal of heavy metal ions due to the combination of adsorption, complexation, Donnan and site resistance effects, and has excellent stability. Additionally, the functionalized membranes exhibited reduced adhesion and survival of bacteria on the surface based on the excellent bacteriostatic and hydrophilicity properties. These findings revealed the mechanism of interfacial modification induction on the nanostructure and properties of membranes and provided an efficient solution for the synthesis of multifunctional membranes.