Luminescent film: Biofouling investigation of tetraphenylethylene blended polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membrane

The need for substituting the semi-online biofouling monitoring system with a real-time system in membrane separation originated from the short period between initial attachment and irreversible biofoulant adhesion. Using fluorescent sensing as an inexpensive, scalable, and non-destructive approach, a real-time monitoring method for determining the right cleaning time is introduced. To demonstrate the potential of the method, the classical solid-state emissive fluorophore, tetraphenylethylene (TPE), was introduced as a fluorescent indicator; polyethersulfone (PES) and nonsolvent-induced phase separation which are the most popular material and method for membrane fabrication in industry and academia are used. The employed filler has aggregation-induced emission characteristic and therefore, it can track the biofoulant attachment. Characterizations of the fabricated membranes (i.e. morphology assessment, flux, antibiogram, flow cytometry, surface free energy, and protein adsorption) indicate that hybrid membrane with ۵ wt % of TPE has identical biofouling activity in comparison with neat PES membrane and its luminescence properties are optimal for non-destructive online biofouling monitoring.

کلیدواژه ها:

Biofouling ، Tetraphenylethylene ، Polyethersulfone ، Ultrafiltration membrane ، Fluorescent sensing