Salt‐Induced Fabrication of Superhydrophilic and Underwater Superoleophobic PAA‐g‐PVDF Membranes for Effective Separation of Oil‐in‐Water Emulsions |
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Authors: | Wenbin Zhang Yuzhang Zhu Xia Liu Dr. Dong Wang Prof. Jingye Li Prof. Lei Jiang Prof. Jian Jin |
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Affiliation: | 1. i‐LABand Nano‐Bionics Division, Suzhou Institute of Nano‐Tech and Nano‐Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123 (China);2. Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201800 (China);3. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 (China) |
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Abstract: | Conventional polymer membranes suffer from low flux and serious fouling when used for treating emulsified oil/water mixtures. Reported herein is the fabrication of a novel superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic poly(acrylic acid)‐grafted PVDF filtration membrane using a salt‐induced phase‐inversion approach. A hierarchical micro/nanoscale structure is constructed on the membrane surface and endows it with a superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic property. The membrane separates both surfactant‐free and surfactant‐stabilized oil‐in‐water emulsions under either a small applied pressure (<0.3 bar) or gravity, with high separation efficiency and high flux, which is one to two orders of magnitude higher than those of commercial filtration membranes having a similar permeation property. The membrane exhibits an excellent antifouling property and is easily recycled for long‐term use. The outstanding performance of the membrane and the efficient, energy and cost‐effective preparation process highlight its potential for practical applications. |
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Keywords: | hydrophobic effect membranes oil‐in‐water emulsions porous membranes surface chemistry |
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