Antibacterial properties of PES/CuCl₂ three-bore hollow fiber UF membrane

In this study, a three-bore polyethersulfone (PES) hollow fiber ultrafiltration (UF) membrane with antibacterial properties was prepared by phase inversion, using PES as the membrane material, N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAC) as solvent, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and CuCl₂ as additives. The effect of CuCl₂ content on the water flux and rejection was studied and the antibacterial properties of PES hollow fiber UF membrane were also investigated. The water flux results indicated that the hydrophilic properties of PES UF membranes were improved after adding CuCl₂. The rejection of PVA-50000 was expected to drop slightly but remain high above 96%. The membranes showed good antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) after adding CuCl₂ and the antibacterial rate of PES/CuCl₂ UF membranes was close to 100% after running for 48 h. PES hollow fiber UF membranes with antibacterial properties were prepared through the formation of the water-soluble PVP/Cu²⁺ complex with spatial network structure, which have good antibacterial and hydrophilic properties. Therefore, this study could provide an effective method for membrane antifouling.