Abstract
Oily waste water discharged from modern industry seriously threatened the ecological environment and human health. Owing to the limitation of their wettability and large pore size, commercial quantitative filter papers could not separate oil/water emulsions. Herein, tunicate cellulose nanocrystals (TCNCs) modified filter papers were fabricated by physical and chemical strategies, respectively. In physically modified filter paper, TCNCs was directly coated on the surface of filter paper through the formation of hydrogen bonding. For chemically TCNC modified filter paper, TCNCs were fixed on the surface of filter paper by crosslinking of hydroxyl groups with epichlorohydrin (ECH). The TCNC modified filter papers exhibited nanoporous morphology and superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic surface. Especially, these resultant filter papers could efficiently separate various oil/water mixtures and emulsions. Moreover, these filter papers showed excellent stability, which retained their inherent properties under various acidic, basic, and salty conditions, mechanical abrasion (or peeling), and ultraviolet radiation (365 nm). This work provided facile strategies for conversion of commercial quantitative filter papers to functional materials for oil/water separation.
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