Development of composite membranes with irregular rod-like structure via atom transfer radical polymerization for efficient oil-water emulsion separation

Jiuyun Cui; Atian Xie; Shi Zhou; Siwei Liu; Qianqian Wang; Yilin Wu; Minjia Meng; Jihui Lang; Zhiping Zhou; Yongsheng Yan

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2018.08.055

Development of composite membranes with irregular rod-like structure via atom transfer radical polymerization for efficient oil-water emulsion separation

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2019 Jan 1:533:278-286. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2018.08.055. Epub 2018 Aug 23.

Authors

Jiuyun Cui¹, Atian Xie², Shi Zhou³, Siwei Liu¹, Qianqian Wang², Yilin Wu², Minjia Meng², Jihui Lang⁴, Zhiping Zhou⁵, Yongsheng Yan⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.
² Institute of Green Chemistry and Chemical Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.
³ Jiangsu Chengxiang New Material Technology Co. LTD, China.
⁴ College of Physics, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, China.
⁵ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China. Electronic address: zhouzp@ujs.edu.cn.
⁶ Institute of Green Chemistry and Chemical Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China. Electronic address: yys@mail.ujs.edu.cn.

PMID: 30172142
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2018.08.055

Abstract

Development of superhydrophilic, stable and cost-effective composite membranes for efficient oil-water emulsion separation is highly desirable. Herein, an irregular rod-like composite membrane was prepared through 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) modification, followed by acrylamide polymerization with atomic transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The as-prepared membrane exhibits superhydrophilicity/underwater superoleophobicity due to its irregular rod-like structure and pores-induced capillary actions. The composite membrane has demonstrated sufficient stability in acidic, alkaline and salty environments due to the polymerization of acrylamide. Moreover, the as-prepared composite membrane has effectively separated various oil-water emulsions and demonstrated high permeation and superior flux recovery. The present work demonstrates that the ATRP-assisted composite membrane is a promising material in a wide range of applications, such as industrial wastewater recovery and drinking water treatment.

Keywords: ATRP; Acrylamide; Composite membrane; Flux recovery; Oil-water emulsions separation.