Synthesis and investigation of desalinating, antibacterial, and mechanical properties of tetraethylorthosilicate crosslinked chitosan/polyethylene glycol (PEG‐300) membranes for reverse osmosis

ABSTRACT Solution casting method was used to synthesize chitosan (CS)‐based membranes for reverse osmosis (RO) using PEG‐300 and tetraethylorthosilicate as a crosslinker. Their salt rejection (%) and permeate flux (mL/h.m2) was measured by using lab scale RO plant. FTIR spectroscopy reveals interactions between CS and PEG by shifting of OH peak from 3237 cm−1 to lower wavenumber in modified membranes. SEM results showed pores in modified membranes while pure CS membranes had uniform nonporous and dense microstructure. DMA results demonstrated that the addition of PEG lowers the Tg value up to 6.5%. Water content of membranes increases up to 82.63% as the amount of PEG increases owing to its hydrophilic nature. The bacterial killing ability showed that the modified membranes possess good antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli in comparison to the control film. The permeation results revealed that salt rejection and flux of the modified membranes increased up 60% and 86.36 mL/h.m2, respectively. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48870. Graphical of the prepared CS‐PEG modified membranes