Electrospun Silver Coated Polyacrylonitrile Membranes for Water Filtration Applications

The scarcity of drinking water and the contamination of water sources in underdeveloped countries are serious problems that require immediate low-tech and low-cost solutions. In this study, we fabricated polyacrylonitrile (PAN) porous membranes coated with silver nanoparticles (AgNP) and demonstrate...

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Main Authors: Shalv Amit Parekh, Rebecca Nicole David, Kranthi K. R. Bannuru, Lakshminarasimhan Krishnaswamy, Avinash Baji
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2018-08-01
Series:Membranes
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/8/3/59
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author Shalv Amit Parekh
Rebecca Nicole David
Kranthi K. R. Bannuru
Lakshminarasimhan Krishnaswamy
Avinash Baji
author_facet Shalv Amit Parekh
Rebecca Nicole David
Kranthi K. R. Bannuru
Lakshminarasimhan Krishnaswamy
Avinash Baji
author_sort Shalv Amit Parekh
collection DOAJ
description The scarcity of drinking water and the contamination of water sources in underdeveloped countries are serious problems that require immediate low-tech and low-cost solutions. In this study, we fabricated polyacrylonitrile (PAN) porous membranes coated with silver nanoparticles (AgNP) and demonstrated their use for water filtration and water treatment applications. The membranes were prepared by electrospinning a PAN solution and treating in a hydroxylamine (NH2OH) aqueous solution to form –C(NH2)N–OH groups that were used for functionalization (Ag+ ions) of the membrane. The coordinated silver ions were then converted to silver nanoparticles. The microstructure of the membrane, water permeability, antimicrobial effect (using Escherichia coli), and particulate filtration capabilities were studied. This study verified that the membrane demonstrated a 100% reduction for Gram-negative bacteria with an effective filtration rate of 8.0 mL/cm2 min. Furthermore, the membrane was able to eliminate 60% of latex beads as small as 50 nm and over 80% of the 2 µm beads via gravity filtration. This study demonstrated that PAN–AgNP membranes can be employed as antimicrobial membranes for the filtration of water in underdeveloped countries.
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spelling doaj.art-7178c775f50f442a9345c001a171da942023-09-03T02:35:30ZengMDPI AGMembranes2077-03752018-08-01835910.3390/membranes8030059membranes8030059Electrospun Silver Coated Polyacrylonitrile Membranes for Water Filtration ApplicationsShalv Amit Parekh0Rebecca Nicole David1Kranthi K. R. Bannuru2Lakshminarasimhan Krishnaswamy3Avinash Baji4Engineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology & Design, Singapore 487372, SingaporeEngineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology & Design, Singapore 487372, SingaporeEngineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology & Design, Singapore 487372, SingaporeEngineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology & Design, Singapore 487372, SingaporeEngineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology & Design, Singapore 487372, SingaporeThe scarcity of drinking water and the contamination of water sources in underdeveloped countries are serious problems that require immediate low-tech and low-cost solutions. In this study, we fabricated polyacrylonitrile (PAN) porous membranes coated with silver nanoparticles (AgNP) and demonstrated their use for water filtration and water treatment applications. The membranes were prepared by electrospinning a PAN solution and treating in a hydroxylamine (NH2OH) aqueous solution to form –C(NH2)N–OH groups that were used for functionalization (Ag+ ions) of the membrane. The coordinated silver ions were then converted to silver nanoparticles. The microstructure of the membrane, water permeability, antimicrobial effect (using Escherichia coli), and particulate filtration capabilities were studied. This study verified that the membrane demonstrated a 100% reduction for Gram-negative bacteria with an effective filtration rate of 8.0 mL/cm2 min. Furthermore, the membrane was able to eliminate 60% of latex beads as small as 50 nm and over 80% of the 2 µm beads via gravity filtration. This study demonstrated that PAN–AgNP membranes can be employed as antimicrobial membranes for the filtration of water in underdeveloped countries.http://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/8/3/59polyacrylonitrileelectrospinningantibacterialsilver nanoparticleswater filtration
spellingShingle Shalv Amit Parekh
Rebecca Nicole David
Kranthi K. R. Bannuru
Lakshminarasimhan Krishnaswamy
Avinash Baji
Electrospun Silver Coated Polyacrylonitrile Membranes for Water Filtration Applications
Membranes
polyacrylonitrile
electrospinning
antibacterial
silver nanoparticles
water filtration
title Electrospun Silver Coated Polyacrylonitrile Membranes for Water Filtration Applications
title_full Electrospun Silver Coated Polyacrylonitrile Membranes for Water Filtration Applications
title_fullStr Electrospun Silver Coated Polyacrylonitrile Membranes for Water Filtration Applications
title_full_unstemmed Electrospun Silver Coated Polyacrylonitrile Membranes for Water Filtration Applications
title_short Electrospun Silver Coated Polyacrylonitrile Membranes for Water Filtration Applications
title_sort electrospun silver coated polyacrylonitrile membranes for water filtration applications
topic polyacrylonitrile
electrospinning
antibacterial
silver nanoparticles
water filtration
url http://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/8/3/59
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AT kranthikrbannuru electrospunsilvercoatedpolyacrylonitrilemembranesforwaterfiltrationapplications
AT lakshminarasimhankrishnaswamy electrospunsilvercoatedpolyacrylonitrilemembranesforwaterfiltrationapplications
AT avinashbaji electrospunsilvercoatedpolyacrylonitrilemembranesforwaterfiltrationapplications