Facile surface modification of a polyamide reverse osmosis membrane using a TiO2 sol-gel derived spray coating method to enhance the anti-fouling property

We reported a facile surface modification by the TiO 2 sol-gel derived spray coating method to enhance the fouling resistance of a polyamide (PA) reverse osmosis (RO) membrane. TiO 2 nanoparticles (TNPs) were prepared by the base catalyzed sol-gel method for a short span of time and deposited onto the commercial PA RO membrane by spraying. The coated TNPs, which have a role as a functional layer on the PA RO membrane, made the membrane surface more hydrophilic and more negatively charged. These modified surface properties reduced the interactive force between humic acid and the membrane surface which resulted in the enhancement of fouling resistance of the PA RO membrane without losses in membrane performances such as the permeate flux and salt rejection when the proper amounts of TiO 2 were coated on the membrane. This study suggests a facile surface modification to fabricate a fouling …