1. Robust Thermoresponsive Polymer Composite Membrane with Switchable Superhydrophilicity and Superhydrophobicity for Efficient Oil–Water Separation
- Author
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Ranwen Ou, Jing Wei, Huanting Wang, Lei Jiang, and George P. Simon
- Subjects
business.product_category ,Materials science ,Polymers ,Polyurethanes ,Acrylic Resins ,Nanotechnology ,02 engineering and technology ,010402 general chemistry ,01 natural sciences ,Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Superhydrophilicity ,Microfiber ,Surface roughness ,Environmental Chemistry ,Polyurethane ,chemistry.chemical_classification ,Acrylamides ,Temperature ,Water ,Membranes, Artificial ,General Chemistry ,Polymer ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,0104 chemical sciences ,Membrane ,chemistry ,Chemical engineering ,Emulsion ,Wettability ,Wetting ,0210 nano-technology ,business ,Oils - Abstract
Herein, we report for the first time on the fabrication of a robust, thermoresponsive polymer membrane produced by the combination of an elastic polyurethane (TPU) microfiber web and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM). PNIPAM hydrogel is evenly coated on the surface of TPU microfibers, and thus, the wettability of TPU-PNIPAM membrane is amplified by taking advantage of the hierarchical structure and increased surface roughness. The TPU-PNIPAM membrane possesses switchable superhydrophilicity and superhydrophobicity as the temperature of membrane changes from 25 to 45 °C. The composite membrane is shown successfully able to separate a 1 wt % oil-in-water emulsion and 1 wt % water-in-oil emulsion at 25 and 45 °C, respectively, with a high separation efficiency of ≥99.26%. Furthermore, the composite membranes show excellent mechanical properties, and they are highly flexible and mechanically tough. The smart composite membranes reported here have shown great potential for further development for practical high-efficiency oil-water separations.
- Published
- 2016