Graphene Oxide Quantum Dots Covalently Functionalized PVDF Membrane with Significantly-Enhanced Bactericidal and Antibiofouling Performances

Zhiping Zeng, Dingshan Yu, Ziming He, Jing Liu, Fang Xing Xiao, Yan Zhang, Rong Wang, Dibakar Bhattacharyya, Timothy Thatt Yang Tan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

156 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Covalent bonding of graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQDs) onto amino modified polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane has generated a new type of nano-carbon functionalized membrane with significantly enhanced antibacterial and antibiofouling properties. A continuous filtration test using E. coli containing feedwater shows that the relative flux drop over GOQDs modified PVDF is 23%, which is significantly lower than those over pristine PVDF (86%) and GO-sheet modified PVDF (62%) after 10 h of filtration. The presence of GOQD coating layer effectively inactivates E. coli and S. aureus cells, and prevents the biofilm formation on the membrane surface, producing excellent antimicrobial activity and potentially antibiofouling capability, more superior than those of previously reported two-dimensional GO sheets and one-dimensional CNTs modified membranes. The distinctive antimicrobial and antibiofouling performances could be attributed to the unique structure and uniform dispersion of GOQDs, enabling the exposure of a larger fraction of active edges and facilitating the formation of oxidation stress. Furthermore, GOQDs modified membrane possesses satisfying long-term stability and durability due to the strong covalent interaction between PVDF and GOQDs. This study opens up a new synthetic avenue in the fabrication of efficient surface-functionalized polymer membranes for potential waste water treatment and biomolecules separation.

Original languageEnglish
Article number20142
JournalScientific Reports
Volume6
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2 2016

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial supported by Nanyang Technological University Start-up Grant (M4081326). We would like to thank Dr Loh Chun Heng of NEWRI NTU for assisting in the permeation studies. This work is also supported by the Youth 1000 Talent Program of China.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Nature Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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