Fabrication and performance of a polyethersulfone nanofiltration membrane impregnated with a mesoporous silica–poly(1‐VInylpyrrolidone) nanocomposite

Fouling is a serious problem in the membrane formation process. Adding hydrophilic polymers or inorganic particles into the membrane is an effective way for improving the antifouling performance. However, most of the water‐soluble polymeric additives leach out during the phase inversion process, and the inorganic particles are prone to agglomerate in the membrane, which decreases the antifouling property of the membrane. In this study, poly(1‐vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) was grafted onto mesoporous silica (MS) nanoparticle surface, and polyethersulfone (PES)/MS–PVP nanocomposite membranes were fabricated by the phase inversion method. MS–PVP dispersed well on the membrane surface, and the hydrophilicity of the PES/MS–PVP membranes increased with increasing content of MS–PVP. PES/MS–PVP membranes exhibited higher water flux than that of the bare PES membrane without any loss in NaCl rejection, and water flux of 25 L/m²h could be achieved by the membrane containing 3% of MS–PVP, which is almost 1.5 times as high as that of bare PES membrane at 0.6 MPa. The protein adsorption onto the membrane surface declined significantly from 49 to 25 mg/cm² when the MS–PVP loading increased from 0% to 3%. POLYM. COMPOS., 38:908–917, 2017. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers