We report a simple methodology to prepare nano-porous polysulfone membranes using zwitterionic functionalized silica nanogels with high BSA protein rejection and antifouling properties. The zwitterionic silica precursor was prepared by reacting 1,3-propane sultone with 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane under an inert atmosphere. The precursor was in situ hydrolyzed and condensed in the polysulfone nanoporous membrane network by one-pot acidic phase inversion. The prepared membranes were characterized to establish their physicochemical nature, morphology, and basic membrane properties such as permeation, rejection, and recovery. The zwitterionic membranes showed improved hydrophilicity, membrane water uptake (∼83.5%), water permeation, BSA protein rejection (>95%), and dye rejection (congo red: >52% (∼6-fold increase); methylene blue: ∼15% (∼2-fold increase)) were improved without compromising the membrane flux and fouling resistance. Overall, we report an easy fabrication method of efficient nanocomposite zwitterionic ultrafilter membranes for water treatment with excellent flux, protein separation, filtration efficiency, and antifouling behavior.

我们报告了一种简单的方法，该方法使用具有高BSA蛋白排斥性和防污性能的两性离子官能化二氧化硅纳米凝胶来制备纳米多孔聚砜膜。通过在惰性气氛下使1，3-丙烷磺内酯与3-氨基丙基三乙氧基硅烷反应来制备两性离子二氧化硅前体。通过一锅酸性相转化将前体原位水解并在聚砜纳米多孔膜网络中浓缩。表征所制备的膜以建立其物理化学性质，形态和基本膜性质，例如渗透，排斥和恢复。两性离子膜显示出改善的亲水性，膜吸水率（〜83.5％），水渗透性，BSA蛋白截留率（> 95％）和染料截留率（刚果红：> 52％（增加约6倍）;亚甲基蓝：在不损害膜通量和耐污性的前提下，提高了约15％（增加了约2倍）。总体而言，我们报告了一种用于水处理的高效纳米复合两性离子超滤膜的简便制造方法，该膜具有优异的通量，蛋白质分离，过滤效率和防污性能。