Fabrication of epitaxially grown Mg2Al-LDH-modified nanofiber membranes for efficient and sustainable separation of water-in-oil emulsion

He, W., Lin, T., Song, Z., Cheng, Y., Zheng, R., Chen, W., Miras, H. N. and Song, Y.-F. (2023) Fabrication of epitaxially grown Mg2Al-LDH-modified nanofiber membranes for efficient and sustainable separation of water-in-oil emulsion. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 15(3), pp. 4755-4763. (doi: 10.1021/acsami.2c19015) (PMID:36629917)

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Abstract

Efficient separation of water-in-oil emulsion is of great importance but remains highly challenging since such emulsion contains stable tiny droplets with a diameter less than 20 μm. Herein, we reported the fabrication of a modular fibrous functional membrane using an “in situ growth and covalent functionalization” strategy. The as-prepared PAN@LDH@OTS (PAN = polyacrylonitrile; LDH = layered double hydroxides; and OTS = octadecyltrichlorosilane) membrane possessed an interlaced rough nanostructured surface with intriguing superhydrophobic/superlipophilic properties. When applied for the separation of surfactant-stabilized water-in-oil emulsion (SSE), the PAN@LDH@OTS membrane exhibited an ultrahigh permeation flux of up to 4.63 × 104 L m–2 h–1 with an outstanding separation efficiency of >99.92%, outperforming most of the state-of-the-art membranes. In addition, the membrane can maintain a stable permeation flux and superhydrophobic/superlipophilic properties after 20 times of use. Detailed characterization demonstrated that the demulsification of the SSE process was as follows: first, the droplets can be easily adsorbed to the PAN@LDH@OTS membrane due to the improved intermolecular interactions between OTS and the surfactants (Span 80); second, the droplets can be deformed by the electropositive LDH laminate; and third, the deformed tiny emulsion droplets coalesced into large droplets and floated up, and as a result, efficient separation of SSE can be achieved.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22178019, 22208013, and 22288102) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (XK1802-6, XK1803-05, and XK1902).
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Moiras, Professor Haralampos
Authors: He, W., Lin, T., Song, Z., Cheng, Y., Zheng, R., Chen, W., Miras, H. N., and Song, Y.-F.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Chemistry
Journal Name:ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Publisher:American Chemical Society
ISSN:1944-8244
ISSN (Online):1944-8252
Published Online:11 January 2023
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2023 American Chemical Society
First Published:First published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 15(3):4755-4763
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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