Robust bio-inspired superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic membranes for simultaneously fast water and oil recovery
(2021) Journal of Membrane Science — Vol. 623, p. 119041 (2021)
Files
UnmarkedrevisedmanuscriptJournalofMembraneScience.pdf
Open Access - Adobe PDF
- 1.78 MB
Details
- Authors
Zhao, Shuaifei 
- Abstract
- Designing a stable and uniform hydrophilic material for separation of oil and water is strongly desired for sustainable management of oily wastewater. Herein, a stable and uniform bio-inspired coating onto the non-woven fabric substrate with superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity via rapid co-deposition of dopamine and polyethylenimine was demonstrated. Ammonium persulfate outperformed other oxidants (e.g., Cu2+-H2O2 and NaIO4) to rapidly trigger the co-deposition of dopamine and polyethylenimine for homogeneous superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic surface engineering. Furthermore, the co-deposition conditions, i.e., concentration of ammonium persulfate and exposure duration, have a positive dependence on the hydrophilicity and underwater oleophobicity of the coated fabric membranes. Specifically, the superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity (underwater oil contact angle of 165.4 ± 1.1°, sliding angle of 2.5 ± 0.5°) can be obtained for the coated fabric membranes at the optimal co-deposition condition (i.e., 28.5 mmol L- 1 persulfate and coating duration of 7 h), showing a great potential in gravitational oil-water separation (permeation flux >115,000 L m-2 h-1; oil rejection >99.2%). Integrating with a superhydrophobic copper mesh, the oil-water mixed solution can be continuously and sufficiently separated, realizing simultaneous recovery of pure oil and water from oily wastewater. In addition, the bio-inspired coating displays a strong long-term chemical robustness and stability in extreme environments (i.e., acidic/alkaline solutions and oils). The study provides a facile, cost-effective and practical strategy in constructing superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic interfaces for sustainable treatment of oily wastewater.
- Affiliations
Fuzhou University Fujian Provincial Engineering Research Center of Rural Waste Recycling Technology Tianjin University School of Chemical Engineering and Technology Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation KU Leuven Department of Chemical Engineering Deakin University Geelong, Institute for Frontier Materials
Citations
Liu, R., Chen, Q., Cao, M., Lin, J., Lin, F., Ye, W., Luis Alconero, P., Van der Bruggen, B., & Zhao, S. (2021). Robust bio-inspired superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic membranes for simultaneously fast water and oil recovery. Journal of Membrane Science, 623, 119041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2020.119041 (Original work published 2021)