Tannic Acid/Lysozyme-Assembled Loose Nanofiltration Membrane with Outstanding Antifouling Properties for Efficient Dye/Salt Separation

Precise separation and antifouling capabilities are critical for the application of membrane separation technology. In this work, we developed a multiplayer layer-by-layer assembly strategy to sequentially deposit tannic acid (TA) and lysozyme (Lys) onto polyethersulfone/iron (PES/Fe) ultrafiltratio...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jianmao Yang, Xuzhao Yan, Shuai Liu, Mengchen Shi, Ying Huang, Fang Li, Xiaofeng Fang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Separations
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/12/5/129
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Summary:Precise separation and antifouling capabilities are critical for the application of membrane separation technology. In this work, we developed a multiplayer layer-by-layer assembly strategy to sequentially deposit tannic acid (TA) and lysozyme (Lys) onto polyethersulfone/iron (PES/Fe) ultrafiltration membrane substrates, enabling the simple and efficient fabrication of a biofouling-resistant loose nanofiltration (LNF) membrane with superior dye/salt separation performance. This approach fully leverages the multifunctionality of TA by exploiting its coordination with Fe<sup>3</sup>⁺ and non-covalent interactions with Lys. The obtained PES/Fe-TA-Lys LNF membrane exhibits a pure water flux of 57.5 L·m<sup>−2</sup>·h<sup>−1</sup>, along with exceptional dye rejection rates (98.3% for Congo Red (CR), 99.2% for Methyl Blue (MB), 98.4% for Eriochrome Black T (EBT), and 67.6% for Acid Orange 74 (AO74)) while maintaining minimal salt retention (8.2% for Na<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>, 4.3% for MgSO<sub>4</sub>, 3.5% for NaCl, and 2.4% for MgCl<sub>2</sub>). The PES/Fe-TA-Lys LNF membrane also displays outstanding antifouling performance against bovine serum albumin (BSA), humic acid (HA), and CR, along with strong biofouling resistance against Escherichia coli (<i>E. coli</i>) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (<i>P. aeruginosa</i>) via synergistic anti-adhesion and biofilm inhibiting effects. This work presents a novel and scalable approach to fabricating biofouling-resistant LNF membranes, offering great potential for dye/salt separation in textile wastewater treatment.
ISSN:2297-8739