Physicochemical and Antibacterial Properties of Ceramic Membranes Based on Silicon Carbide

Abstract The article is devoted to the synthesis of ceramic membranes based on silicon carbide and the study of their mechanical, electrical, and antibacterial properties. SiC-based ceramic membranes have a few advantages, namely high surface hydrophilicity, good water permeability and negative surface charge, which leads to better performance during their operation. The effect of carbonate type and addition of liquid glass on the physicochemical properties of ceramic membranes was investigated using diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that regardless of the carbonate type, only two phases can be identified: the main phase in the original mixture is silicon carbide and an additional phase added to the mixture is corundum. The transport properties obtained (9.03–18.66 cm3/(min·cm2)), and the results of electron microscopy indicate the macroporosity of ceramic membranes based on silicon carbide (13–20 µm). Ceramic membranes of high strength (16.3–46.8 MPa) were obtained. Studies on antibacterial properties have shown that SiC-based ceramic membranes do not exhibit antibacterial properties. The additional modification of ceramic membranes with titanium oxide has given ceramic membranes based on silicon carbide antibacterial properties, as evidenced by the inhibition of the growth of gram-negative bacteria, the effectiveness of which depends on the number of selective layers based on TiO2 applied. The results of this study are useful to enrich the knowledge of the production of silicon carbide membranes and are aimed at the future research and development of selective membranes (micro- and ultrafiltration) based on them.