Facile fouling resistant surface modification of microfiltration cellulose acetate membranes by using amino acid L-DOPA.

A major obstacle in the widespread application of microfiltration membranes in the wet separation processes such as wastewater treatment is the decline of permeates flux as a result of fouling. This study reports on the surface modification of cellulose acetate (CA) microfiltration membrane with amino acid L-3,4-dihydroxy-phenylalanine (L-DOPA) to improve fouling resistance of the membrane. The membrane surface was characterised using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), water contact angle and zeta potential measurement.