Direct growth of hierarchically structured titanate nanotube filtration membrane for removal of waterborne pathogens

A hierarchical titanate nanotube based filtration membrane was fabricated and successfully applied for bacteria removal. A facile and effective membrane fabrication method was developed to directly grow a hierarchical titanate nanotube selective layer onto a porous metal membrane substrate. The method is a one-pot synthesis method, eliminates the needs for tedious and costly multiple-coating approach. The resultant membrane possesses a unique porous structure with strong mechanical strength, intrinsically free of cracks and pinholes, and can be readily regenerated by a simple pressure driven back-flushing process. Successful separation of E. coli demonstrates the applicability of the titanate nanotube membrane for waterborne pathogens removal, which would be of a great interest to the water purification applications, especially for the purified recycling water applications. The high selectivity and flux of the nanotube membrane in addition to its excellent biocompatibility and nontoxic nature make such a membrane highly attractive to medical applications for removal of pathogens and other unwanted biological constituents with sizes greater than 50 nm from highly complex medium.