Anti‐biofouling anion exchange membrane using surface modified quaternized poly(ether imide) for microbial fuel cells

ABSTRACT This article deals with a novel way of improving the anti‐biofouling potential of an anion exchange membrane (AEM) by surface modification with ethanol amine (AEOH), a low cost material without affecting the chemical structure and morphology of Quaternized Poly(ether imide) (QPEI), the host membrane. The anti‐biofouling potential of the AEM was evaluated using bacteria anti‐adhesion test, hydrophilicity, surface roughness, water uptake, and the AEOH modification time. The data reveal that power density in all MFCs attain the highest in the sixth batch and thereafter declined albeit in a varying rate as expected measuring the least for QPEI‐30. Periodical measurement of internal resistance and protein content on the membrane surfaces were found to be the least for QPEI‐30 when compared with others. A reduced biofouling with improved anti‐biofouling property is attributed to the enhanced hydrophilicity due to surface modification. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 44432.