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Thermo‐Driven Controllable Emulsion Separation by a Polymer‐Decorated Membrane with Switchable Wettability
Author(s) -
Zhang Weifeng,
Liu Na,
Zhang Qingdong,
Qu Ruixiang,
Liu Yanan,
Li Xiangyu,
Wei Yen,
Feng Lin,
Jiang Lei
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201801736
Subject(s) - lower critical solution temperature , emulsion , wetting , membrane , chemical engineering , materials science , polymer , chemistry , copolymer , composite material , biochemistry , engineering
A thermoresponsive Poly( N ‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm)‐modified nylon membrane was fabricated via hydrothermal route. Combining rough structure, proper pore size, and thermoresponsive wettability, the membrane can separate at least 16 types of stabilized oil‐in‐water and water‐in‐oil emulsions at different temperatures. Below the LCST (ca. 25 °C), the material exhibits hydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity, which can be used for the separation of various kinds of oil‐in‐water emulsions. Above the LCST (ca. 45 °C), the membrane shows the opposite property with high hydrophobicity and superoleophilicity, and it can then separate stabilized water‐in‐oil emulsions. The material exhibits excellent recyclability and high separation efficiency for various kinds of emulsions and the hydrothermal method is facile and low‐cost. The membrane shows good potential in real situations such as on‐demand oil‐spill cleanup, industrial wastewater treatment, remote operation of oil/water emulsion separation units, and fuel purification.