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Engineering Dual CO2- and Photothermal-Responsive Membranes for Switchable Double Emulsion Separation
Haohao Liu1, Yangyang Wang1, Bo Zhu2
1Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, P. R. China.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|February 11, 2024
Summary
New dual-responsive membranes efficiently separate complex double emulsions. These membranes switch wettability using CO2 and near-infrared light, achieving over 99.6% separation efficiency for challenging oil/water mixtures.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Stimulus-responsive membranes are effective for simple oil/water separations.
- Conventional membranes struggle with complex double emulsions (O/W/O, W/O/W).
- Precise control over membrane wettability and pore structure is crucial for double emulsion treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop novel dual-responsive membranes for efficient separation of double emulsions.
- To investigate the mechanism of switchable double emulsion separation.
- To enhance the industrial applicability of stimulus-responsive membranes.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of dual-coated fibers with photothermal and CO2-responsive properties.
- Automated weaving to create membranes with controlled pore size distributions.
- Utilizing 2D low-field nuclear magnetic resonance and correlated spectra techniques for mechanistic studies.
Main Results:
- Developed membranes exhibit rapid wettability switching between superhydrophilicity (CO2) and hydrophobicity (near-infrared light).
- Achieved on-demand separation of O/W/O and W/O/W emulsions with >99.6% efficiency.
- Elucidated the separation mechanism using advanced spectroscopic techniques.
Conclusions:
- The dual-responsive membranes offer a promising solution for treating complex double emulsions.
- This approach overcomes limitations of existing stimulus-responsive membranes.
- The technology has potential for industrial applications in emulsion separation.
