Carbon quantum dots-Ag nanoparticle membrane for preventing emerging contaminants in oil produced water

abstract

© 2022 Elsevier LtdA polycarbonate copolymer was used to create a novel low-cost microfiltration membrane. Due to their antibacterial properties, carbon quantum dots and silver nanoparticles (CD-Ag NPs) have been synthesized and incorporated into a poly(acrylonitrile-styrene) membrane by the Creighton method. This work examined the membranes using Infrared Vibrational Spectroscopy, Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy, and a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). An investigation was conducted to determine the effects of the CDs-Ag NPs amount on the matrix's morphology, pore size, porosity, permeability, and mechanical strength. Also, photobleaching was used to reduce and stabilize CDs-Ag NPs, as reflected by a red shift in the spectra for CDs compared to CDs-Ag NPs from 290 nm to 570 nm in the UV/Vis spectrum, indicating the nanoparticle was generated. Pore size and mechanical strength are reduced when CDs-Ag NPs are added to neat membranes. However, it is followed by a decrease in porosity and mechanical strength. The optimized membrane exhibited a 0.66 pore size. In addition to removing oils and metals from wastewater, they also remove dyes, antibiotics, and other organic and inorganic compounds. The colony forming unit (CFU) test also showed that the percentage of CFU decreased as AgNO3 concentration increased so that at a concentration of 4, the percentage of CFU for E. coli and S. aureus was 5 % and 1.9 % for S. aureus. The Creighton methodology was therefore proven suitable for functionalizing the membrane, and discs-Ag NPs membranes have been demonstrated to be promising wastewater treatment membranes.