Abstract Reverse osmosis (RO) is considered a promising technology for addressing global water scarcity problems. However, biofouling is still a significant obstacle in the operation of RO membranes. In this study, a sulfonated polyelectrolyte-silver nanoparticle architecture was employed to endow polyamide RO membranes with robust repelling-and-killing bacterial abilities. The RO membrane surface was first functionalized by poly (3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium salt) (pSM) via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), followed by in situ immobilization of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Static bacterial adhesion and diffusion inhibition zone tests revealed that hydrophilic and electronegative pSM brushes repelled bacterial attachment on the membrane surface while AgNPs can inactivate bacterial cells. In addition, the presence of pSM-AgNPs complex on the RO membrane surface exhibited the best anti-biofouling properties, maintaining ~90% water flux in long-term dynamic biofouling filtration. Moreover, good trap of pSM brushes for AgNPs could guarantee the long-term stability of repelling-and-killing bacterial abilities.

中文翻译：

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在聚酰胺反渗透膜上设计双功能磺化聚电解质 - 银纳米颗粒复合物，以有效缓解生物污染

摘要 反渗透（RO）被认为是解决全球水资源短缺问题的一项有前途的技术。然而，生物污染仍然是反渗透膜运行中的一个重要障碍。在这项研究中，采用磺化聚电解质 - 银纳米颗粒结构赋予聚酰胺 RO 膜强大的排斥和杀死细菌的能力。RO膜表面首先通过原子转移自由基聚合（ATRP）由聚（3-磺丙基甲基丙烯酸钾盐）（pSM）功能化，然后原位固定银纳米颗粒（AgNPs）。静态细菌粘附和扩散抑制区测试表明，亲水性和负电性 pSM 刷排斥膜表面上的细菌附着，而 AgNPs 可以灭活细菌细胞。此外，RO 膜表面 pSM-AgNPs 复合物的存在表现出最佳的抗生物污垢性能，在长期动态生物污垢过滤中保持约 90% 的水通量。此外，用于 AgNPs 的 pSM 刷的良好陷阱可以保证排斥和杀死细菌能力的长期稳定性。