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Electrospun Differential Wetting Membranes for Efficient Oil–Water Separation
Author(s) -
Ganesh Venkatesan Anand,
Ranganath Anupama Sargur,
Baji Avinash,
Wong Him Cheng,
Raut Hemant Kumar,
Sahay Rahul,
Ramakrishna Seeram
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201600074
Subject(s) - membrane , materials science , wetting , chemical engineering , contact angle , electrospinning , nanofiber , industrial wastewater treatment , wastewater , composite material , polymer , environmental engineering , chemistry , environmental science , biochemistry , engineering
Separation of low viscous oil from water has attracted immense attention in recent times due to the ever‐increasing amount of oily industrial wastewater discharge and frequent oil spill accidents. Hence, there is a persistent demand for the fabrication of robust oil–water separation membranes. Herein, robust oil–water separation membranes are successfully fabricated by direct electrospinning of poly(vinylidene fluoride‐ co ‐hexafluoropropylene) and fluorinated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane composite mixture. These hybrid membranes exhibit differential wetting (highly hydrophobic/superoleophilic) behavior for water and oil. The contact angle made by water and low viscous oil (hexane) with the membrane are measured to be 145 and 0° respectively. The nanofiber membranes efficiently separate low viscous oil from water in a single‐step with separation efficiency of nearly 100%. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the membranes are robust and durable exhibiting differential wettability even after several oil–water separation cycles. The results reveal the potential of their use for real‐time industrial wastewater treatment applications.