Abstract
To address the worldwide oil and water separation issue, a novel approach was inspired by natural phenomena to synthesize superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic organic/inorganic nanofibrous membranes via a scale up fabrication approach. The synthesized membranes possess a delicate organic core of PVDF-HFP and an inorganic shell of a CuO nanosheet structure, which endows super-flexible properties owing to the merits of PVDF-HFP backbones, and superhydrophilic functions contributed by the extremely rough surface of a CuO nanosheet anchored on flexible PVDF-HFP. Such an organic core and inorganic shell architecture not only functionalizes membrane performance in terms of antifouling, high flux, and low energy consumption, but also extends the lifespan by enhancing its mechanical strength and alkaline resistance to broaden its applicability. The resultant membrane exhibits good oil/water separation efficiency higher than 99.7%, as well as excellent anti-fouling properties for various oil/water mixtures. Considering the intrinsic structural innovation and its integrated advantages, this core–shell nanofibrous membrane is believed to be promising for oil/water separation, and this facile approach is also easy for scaled up manufacturing of functional organic/inorganic nanofibrous membranes with insightful benefits for industrial wastewater treatment, sensors, energy production, and many other related areas.
Highlights
Membrane separation is a popularly used technology for wastewater treatment, water purification, seawater desalination, and even oil/water separation [1,2,3,4,5]
1960s, polymer-based membranes have dominated the market in various applications field from the pharmaceutical/medical industry, food processing, gas separation, water purification and treatment, electronic devices, etc., with a huge number of membranes emerging in the market [6,7,8]
An ideal separation membrane is featured with special properties such as flexibility for ease of application, superhydrophilicity for low fouling tendency and high productivity, and good mechanical strength for a longer lifespan
Summary
Membrane separation is a popularly used technology for wastewater treatment, water purification, seawater desalination, and even oil/water separation [1,2,3,4,5]. Zhang and co-workers fabricated a nanowire-haired Cu(OH) on a copper mesh, and this resulting membrane was capable of separating oil/water mixtures with high efficiency under alkaline conditions [31]. These regenerated membranes on metal mesh have many disadvantages such as large pore size and poor flexibility, weakening the applications in oil/water separation [32]. (3) the oil/water separation performance of the resulting membrane; and (4) tentative conclusions of formation mechanisms of the resulting membrane
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