This study reports on the antibacterial efficacy of both the TiO₂ and TiO₂/Cu nanoparticles prepared through the sol-gel method. The materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The SEM and TEM showed the spherical morphology of the nanoparticles, while EDX and XPS confirmed the incorporation of Cu into the TiO₂ nanoparticles. The XRD confirmed the formation of the tetragonal anatase phase of TiO₂/Cu while the FTIR revealed the functional groups linked to the doped TiO₂ nanoparticles. The thermal stability of TiO₂/Cu was found to be lower than pure TiO₂. Moreover, TiO₂ and the doped TiO₂ nanoparticles were notably effective against Bacillus subtilis(B. subtilis) andEscherichia coli(E. coli); however, the addition of Cu to TiO₂ did not have any effect on the antibacterial activity probably due to the lower weight content in the composites. Interestingly, the antibacterial efficiency was determined to be 90 and 80% against B. subtilis and E. coli, respectively.

A series of Zeolitic imidazole framework-8 (ZIF-8) clusters supported on graphene oxide (ZIF-8@GO) nanocomposites were prepared by varying the ratios of ZIF-8 to GO. The resultant nanocomposites were characterized using various techniques, such as Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. These nanocomposites were incorporated into the thin film layer during interfacial polymerisation process of m-phenylenediamine (aqueous phase which contained the dispersed nanocomposites) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC, organic phase) at room temperature onto polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration (UF) support membrane. The membrane surface morphology, cross section and surface roughness were characterized using SEM and AFM, respectively. Compared to the baseline membranes, the thin film nanofiltration (TFN) membranes exhibited improved pure water flux (from 1.66 up to 7.9 L.m⁻²h⁻¹), salt rejection (from 40 to 98%) and fouling resistance (33 to 88%). Optimum ZIF-8 to GO ratio was established as indicated in observed pure water flux, salt rejection and BSA fouling resistance. Therefore, a balance in hydrophilic and porous effect of the filler was observed to lead to this observed membrane behaviour suggesting that careful filler design can result in performance gain for thin film composite (TFC) membranes for water treatment application.