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Self-supported and flexible bacterial cellulose (BC) based hybrid membranes were synthesized and decorated with zinc oxide/multi-walled carbon nanotube (ZnO-MWCNT) composite additives in order to modify and tune their surface and bulk properties. Two types of ZnO-MWCNT additives with different morphologies were used in a wide concentration range from 0 to 90% for BC-based hybrids produced by filtration. The interaction between BC and ZnO-MWCNT and the effect of concentration and morphology of additives on the properties like zeta potential, hydrophilicity, electrical conductivity, etc. would be an important factor in various applications. Furthermore, the as-prepared hybrid membranes were characterized with the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and surface area measurement (BET). Applying the presented synthesis routes, the surface properties of BC-based membranes can be tailored easily. Results reveal that the as-prepared BC-ZnO-MWCNT hybrid membranes can be ideal candidates for different kinds of applications, such as water filtration or catalysts., Competing Interests: We declare we have no competing interests., (© 2020 The Authors.)

Membrane separation is proved to be a powerful tool for several applications such as wastewater treatment or the elimination of various microorganisms from drinking water. In this study, the efficiency of inorganic composite-based multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) hybrid membranes was investigated in the removal of MS2 bacteriophages from contaminated water. With this object, multi-walled carbon nanotubes were coated with copper(I) oxide, titanium(IV) oxide and iron(III) oxide nanoparticles, respectively, and their virus removal capability was tested in both batch and flow experiments. Considering the possible pH range of drinking water, the filtration tests were carried out at pH 5.0, 7.5 and 9.0 as well. The extent of MS2 removal strongly depended on the pH values for each composite, which can be due to electrostatic interactions between the membrane and the virus. The most efficient removal (greater than or equal to 99.99%) was obtained with the Cu 2 O-coated MWCNT membrane in the whole pH range. The fabricated nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, specific surface area measurement, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential measurement, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. This study presents a simple route to design novel and effective nanocomposite-based hybrid membranes for virus removal., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.