TY - JOUR
T1 - Robust thermoresponsive polymer composite membrane with switchable superhydrophilicity and superhydrophobicity for efficient oil-water separation
AU - Ou, Ranwen
AU - Wei, Jing
AU - Jiang, Lei
AU - Simon, George P.
AU - Wang, Huanting
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - 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 highefficiency oil−water separations
AB - 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 highefficiency oil−water separations
U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.5b03418
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.5b03418
M3 - Article
C2 - 26704724
VL - 50
SP - 906
EP - 914
JO - Environmental Science & Technology
JF - Environmental Science & Technology
SN - 0013-936X
IS - 2
ER -