Microporous membranes for ultrafast and energy-efficient removal of antibiotics through polyphenol-mediated nanointerfaces

The wide-spread overuse and misuse of antibiotics has led to major risks to human health, which demands breakthrough technologies for elimination of antibiotics from water streams. Membrane-based water purification has drawn substantial interest for this purpose. However, high permeance and high antibiotic-removal efficiency remain extremely challenging. In this work, the use of polyphenol-based nanoengineering to functionalize conventional microporous membranes capable of ultrafast removal of ten different antibiotics in an in-line flowthrough purification system is explored. The high adsorption kinetics of these nanocoatings enable a record-high permeance (9,774 L m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹) with exceptional removal rate and efficiency, at a relatively low energy cost (0.09 kWh m⁻³), even in a real-world wastewater treatment. Molecular dynamics simulations provide detailed insights into the role of polyphenol-based nanocoatings and their multiple molecular interactions with antibiotics. This work provides a promising and sustainable platform for engineering the next-generation adsorption-based membranes for clean water production.