The synthesis of antibacterial ZnO nanoparticle incorporated polyethersulfone (PES) membranes through green chemistry

In conventional fabrication methods of polymer membranes, toxic solvents are widely used that result in significant water pollution, additionally, membrane function can be enhanced by the incorporation of nanoparticles (NP) to impart properties into them such as antimicrobial activity. To identify if a more environmentally friendly solvent can replace toxic solvents whilst enhancing membrane functionally by NPs, N,N-dimethyl lactamide (DML) was employed in the synthesis of polyethersulfone (PES) membranes and its performance was compared with the traditionally used toxic solvent of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). The successful synthesis of PES by DML and NMP with varying concentrations of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) NPs were achieved and were systematically characterized via different techniques to evaluate their structure, morphology, and performance. The results show that the DML-based PES–ZnO membranes exhibit a more uniform pore size distribution and higher porosity than the NMP-based PES membranes. Antibacterial tests further demonstrated that, at the same ZnO NPs concentration, the DML-based PES membrane offers a superior antimicrobial activity, highlighting DML to be a promising green chemical to replace NMP for sustainable synthesis of NP enhanced PES membranes. • A green solvent (DML) was used to replace the toxic NMP in PES membrane fabrication. • Antibacterial performance of the DML based and NMP based PES membranes with different ZnO NPs loadings was compared. • Morphology and structure of the DML- and NMP- based PES membranes were systematically compared.