Rechargeable Multifunctional Anti‐Bacterial AEMs for Electrodialysis: Improving Anti‐Biological Performance via Synergistic Antibacterial Mechanism

Constructing a functional layer on the surface of commercial membrane (as a substrate) to inhibit the formation of biofilms is an efficient strategy to prepare an antibacterial anion exchange membrane (AEM). Herein, a rechargeable multifunctional anti‐biological system is reported by utilizing the mussel‐inspired L‐dopa connection function on commercial AEMs. Cobalt nanoparticles (Co NPs) and N‐chloramine compounds are deposited on the AEM surface by a two‐step modification procedure. The anti‐biofouling abilities of the membranes are qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by adopting common Gram‐negative (E. coli) and Gram‐positive (S. aureus & Bacillus) bacteria as model biofouling organisms. The optimized membrane exhibits a high stability concerning the NaCl solution separation performance within 240 min. Meantime, the mechanism of the anti‐adhesion is un‐veiled at an atomic level and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation are conducted to measure the interaction, adsorption energy and average loading by using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of E. coli. In view of the superior performance of antibacterial surfaces, it is believed that this work could provide a valuable guideline for the design of membrane materials with resistance to biological contamination.