from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
Around 1.2 billion people have limited access to drinkable water and millions succumb every year to sicknesses caused due to the consumption of impure water or lack of water. In the coming years, this problem will only progress at alarming rates due to the aggressive growth of population, urbanization and droughts. It is essential to investigate new approaches for water treatment with low energy costs and economic benefits. The biggest problem in membrane filtrations is fouling, which causes membrane pore blockages and creates a cake layer on the membrane surface. The aim of the project is to obtain nanofibrous membranes that will have high fouling resistance and antibacterial effects. Nanoparticles of Ag, ZnO, TiO2 and CuO are known for their antibacterial properties. In order to attach nanoparticles to the membrane surface, appropriate functional groups are required. The first step of the project involves the attachment of functional groups capable of binding nanoparticles to the surface of the nanofiber membrane. For this alkaline surface modification using NaOH, KOH, DETA under different conditions was performed. After modification, changes in hydrophilicity and structure of membranes, pore size and appearance of nanofibers were checked. Defluorination reaction conditions with NaOH and KOH proved to be insufficient to obtain the desired functional groups on the membrane surface. In the case of the reaction with DETA, amine groups were obtained, which will be used in the next step to attach the nanoparticles.
Keywords: PVDF, nanofibers, surface, alkaline, modification© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.