Pseudo-zwitterions self-assembled from polycation and anion clusters showing exceptional water-cleanable anti-crude-oil-adhesion property

Yuzhang Zhu; Hongzhen Lin; Wangxi Fang; Aqiang Wang; Jichao Sun; Shiling Yuan; Jingye Li; Jian Jin

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.102964

Pseudo-zwitterions self-assembled from polycation and anion clusters showing exceptional water-cleanable anti-crude-oil-adhesion property

iScience. 2021 Aug 11;24(9):102964. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102964. eCollection 2021 Sep 24.

Authors

Yuzhang Zhu¹, Hongzhen Lin¹, Wangxi Fang¹, Aqiang Wang², Jichao Sun³, Shiling Yuan³, Jingye Li⁴, Jian Jin²

Affiliations

¹ i-Lab and CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, P.R. China.
² College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science & Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, P. R. China.
³ Key Lab of Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China.
⁴ College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Shanghai Normal University, No. 100 Guilin Road, Shanghai, 200234, China.

Abstract

It is of great importance and practical value to develop a facile and operable surface treatment method of materials with excellent antipollution and antiadhesion property, but still a huge challenge. In this work, a series of pseudo-zwitterions are prepared from electrostatic assembly of cationic polyethyleneimine and anionic phosphonic clusters. These pseudo-zwitterionic assemblies provide a strong hydration through electrostatic interaction with water and in turn create a barrier against oil foulants, leading to a nearly zero crude oil adhesion force. The pseudo-zwitterions-decorated surfaces exhibit exceptional water-cleanable oil-repellent property, even when they are completely dried and without prehydration before fouled by crude oil. While using these pseudo-zwitterions-modified polymeric membranes for separating surfactant stabilized oil-in-water emulsion, less than 10% decline of permeating flux is observed throughout a 2-h continuous separation experiment, showing excellent emulsion separation ability and antipollution performance for high viscous oil.

Keywords: Materials chemistry; Materials property; Materials science; Materials synthesis.