The effect of reactive dye coupling as a post formation method to improve the performance of
commercial water treatment membranes was the focus of this study. Specifically, the objective
of this project was to characterize the impact of coupling a hydrophilic negatively charged dye to
the membrane on the performance characteristics and flux decline in comparison with virgin
membranes. The results of this testing indicate that the dye coupling structure modifications
seemed to have increased the tested nanofiltration membranes' hydrophilicity, showing a positive
effect. The effects of dye coupling on a highly hydrophobic polyether sulfone membrane,
included an improvement of the initial specific flux by a considerable margin, a lower
normalized flux decline, an increase in the absolute value of the negative charge of the
membrane surface, and a decrease in biofouling and biodegradable organic matter fouling. Includes 52 references, table, figures.