Polydopamine and poly(dimethylsiloxane) modified superhydrophobic fiberglass membranes for efficient water-in-oil emulsions separation

Haixiao Kang; Xiaoliang Zhang; Lingxiao Li; Baowei Zhao; Fengfeng Ma; Junping Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2019.10.016

Polydopamine and poly(dimethylsiloxane) modified superhydrophobic fiberglass membranes for efficient water-in-oil emulsions separation

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2020 Feb 1:559:178-185. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.10.016. Epub 2019 Oct 9.

Authors

Haixiao Kang¹, Xiaoliang Zhang², Lingxiao Li³, Baowei Zhao⁴, Fengfeng Ma⁵, Junping Zhang⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China; State Key Laboratory for Oxo Synthesis and Selective Oxidation, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.
² Shandong Peninsula Engineering Research Center of Comprehensive Brine Utilization, Weifang University of Science and Technology, Shouguang, Weifang 262700, China.
³ Center of Eco-material and Green Chemistry, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.
⁴ School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China. Electronic address: baoweizhao@mail.lzjtu.cn.
⁵ School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
⁶ Center of Eco-material and Green Chemistry, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China. Electronic address: jpzhang@licp.cas.cn.

PMID: 31627141
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.10.016

Abstract

Separation of oil/water mixture using superwetting materials has received great interest in recent years. However, it is challenging to efficiently separate water-in-oil emulsions due to their high stability and complex structures in the presence of surfactants. Here, we report preparation of polydopamine (PDA) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) modified superhydrophobic fiberglass (FG) membranes for efficient separation of water-in-oil emulsions. The membranes were fabricated by in turn deposition of PDA and chemical vapor deposition of PDMS. In order to study the structure-performance relationship, the membranes were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, etc. The membranes are superhydrophobic with a water contact angle of 152° and meanwhile superoleophilic with an oil contact angle of 0°. Also, the membranes demonstrate excellent acid, alkali and fire resistance. The absorption capacity of the membranes for diverse oils is 5.3-14.0 g g^-1. Moreover, the membranes can remove more than 98% of water from the surfactant-stabilized water-in-oil emulsions. It is expected that the superhydrophobic FG membranes can be used for effective separation of diverse water-in-oil emulsions.

Keywords: Emulsion; Oil/water separation; Poly(dimethylsiloxane); Polydopamine; Superhydrophobic.