Self-assembled polymeric nanosheet-anchored nanofiber membrane for emulsion separation.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• High-performance water-oil separation is critical for environmental protection and resource management, supporting carbon neutrality goals.
• Existing materials often suffer from limited pore structures and interface control, leading to suboptimal separation efficiency and flux.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop advanced membranes for high-performance emulsion separation using a novel electrohydrodynamic strategy.
• To overcome limitations of current separation materials by creating a unique hierarchical nanoarchitecture.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an electrohydrodynamic strategy, specifically the electrospray-sheeting technique, to fabricate membranes.
• Manipulated relative humidity and topological structure to create stem-like nanofibers and induce polymer-charged droplets to assemble into leaf-like nanosheets.
• Constructed membranes with a hierarchical stem-leaf-like nanoarchitecture.

Main Results:

• Achieved high separation efficiency (>99.32%) and flux (up to 4179 L m⁻² h⁻¹) for water-in-oil emulsions.
• The developed membrane's nanoarchitecture features superwettable pore channels, enhancing separation performance.
• Performance attributed to supercapillary and demulsification-interception effects.

Conclusions:

• The developed hierarchical stem-leaf-like nanoarchitecture provides a unique platform for advanced filtration and purification materials.
• This facile electrohydrodynamic strategy offers a promising approach for creating high-performance emulsion separation membranes.
• The findings contribute to the development of materials for environmental remediation and resource utilization.