Composites based on electrospun fibers modified with cellulose nanocrystals and SiO2 for selective oil/water separation

Dong Wang; Sameer Mhatre; Jingqian Chen; Xuetong Shi; Haiying Yang; Wanli Cheng; Yiying Yue; Guangping Han; Orlando J Rojas

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.120119

Composites based on electrospun fibers modified with cellulose nanocrystals and SiO₂ for selective oil/water separation

Carbohydr Polym. 2023 Jan 1:299:120119. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.120119. Epub 2022 Sep 17.

Authors

Dong Wang¹, Sameer Mhatre², Jingqian Chen², Xuetong Shi², Haiying Yang³, Wanli Cheng³, Yiying Yue⁴, Guangping Han⁵, Orlando J Rojas⁶

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Bio-based Material Science and Technology (Ministry of Education), Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China; Bioproducts Institute, Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Department of Chemistry, and Department of Wood Science, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
² Bioproducts Institute, Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Department of Chemistry, and Department of Wood Science, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
³ Key Laboratory of Bio-based Material Science and Technology (Ministry of Education), Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.
⁴ College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China. Electronic address: yue@njfu.edu.cn.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Bio-based Material Science and Technology (Ministry of Education), Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China. Electronic address: guangping.han@nefu.edu.cn.
⁶ Bioproducts Institute, Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Department of Chemistry, and Department of Wood Science, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Canada. Electronic address: orlando.rojas@ubc.ca.

PMID: 36876770
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.120119

Abstract

Membranes for water remediation require structural stability, efficient operation, and durability. In this work, we used cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) to reinforce hierarchical nanofibrous membranes based on polyacrylonitrile (PAN). Hydrolysis of the electrospun nanofibers (H-PAN) enabled hydrogen bonding with CNC and provided reactive sites for grafting cationic polyethyleneimine (PEI). In a further modification, anionic silica particles (SiO₂) were adsorbed on the fiber surfaces, obtaining CNC/H-PAN/PEI/SiO₂ hybrid membranes, which developed swelling resistance (swelling ratio of 6.7 compared to 25.4 measured for a CNC/PAN membrane). Hence, the introduced hydrophilic membranes contain highly interconnected channels, they are non-swellable and exhibit mechanical and structural integrity. By contrast with untreated PAN membranes, those obtained after modification displayed high structural integrity and allowed regeneration and cyclic operation. Finally, wettability and oil-in-water emulsion separation tests demonstrated remarkable oil rejection and separation efficiency in aqueous media.

Keywords: Cellulose nanocrystals; Electrospinning; Oil-in-water emulsions; Phase separation; Water purification.