Transition sandwich Janus membrane of cellulose acetate and polyurethane nanofibers for oil–water separation

Yong Zhang,Anrong Yao,Puxin Zhu,Mei Yang,Fei Cheng,Yanting Han,Lin Tan,Yidong Shi,Yuan Zhou,Mi Zhou

doi:10.1007/s10570-021-04402-8

Yong Zhang, Anrong Yao + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-021-04402-8

Copy DOI

Journal: Cellulose	Publication Date: Jan 4, 2022
Citations: 17	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: Sichuan University, Chengdu Normal University

Abstract

Through sequential electrospinning, a sandwich Janus membrane (PU-(CA/PU)-CA) was constructed with hydrophobic polyurethane (PU) nanofiber membrane as the top layer, cellulose acetate/polyurethane (CA/PU) blend nanofiber membrane as the intermediate transition layer and hydrophilic cellulose acetate (CA) nanofiber membrane as the bottom layer. The effects of membrane structure, composition and thickness on the mechanical properties, permeability and separation ability of PU-(CA/PU)-CA nanofiber membrane were studied. The results show that the transition sandwich structure PU-(CA/PU)-CA membrane has good mechanical properties, high permeability and selective separation ability, and can realize the unidirectional transmission of water and efficient oil–water separation. When the membrane thickness is 80 μm, the hydraulic permeability is 3.4 ± 0.4 × 104 L/(m2 h bar), the oil–water separation efficiency reaches 99 ± 0.4%, and the tensile strength is 95.8% higher than that of the double-layer PU-CA membrane. The thermal stability and antifouling ability of PU-(CA/PU)-CA nanofiber membrane have also been improved, and the reusability is good. CA/PU transition interlayer improves the interfacial compatibility between CA and PU nanofiber membrane, enhances the performance of PU-(CA/PU)-CA nanofiber Janus membrane, and shows its application prospect in the field of separation and purification.Graphical abstract

Highlights

Electrospun nanofiber membrane has the advantages of high specific surface area, good flexibility, adjustable wettability, high porosity and good pore connectivity
Janus filter membranes are prepared by sequentially filtering hydrophilic and hydrophobic nanotubes or nanowires onto porous substrates (Zhang et al 2014; Hu et al 2015), or Janus nanofiber membranes are prepared by sequential electrospinning of hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers (Wu et al 2012)
PU-(CA/PU)-cellulose acetate (CA) nanofiber Janus membranes with cellulose acetate/polyurethane (CA/PU) blend nanofibers as transition interlayer were constructed by sequential electrospinning

Summary

Introduction

Electrospun nanofiber membrane has the advantages of high specific surface area, good flexibility, adjustable wettability, high porosity and good pore connectivity It can separate oil-water mixture with high permeability and low energy consumption. The difference in wettability on both sides of Janus membrane will lead to unique transport behavior in the membrane (Yang et al 2016), such as unidirectional liquid infiltration (Song et al 2019; Liu et al 2019; Xie et al 2021; Wu et al 2012; Liu et al 2017) and oil-water separation (Wang, Wang, and Liu 2016; Li et al 2019). In order to ensure the mechanical strength of the prepared Janus membrane, the interfacial compatibility between two adjacent membrane materials must be considered (Yang et al 2016)

Methods

Results

Conclusion