Reusable and Recyclable Superhydrophilic Electrospun Nanofibrous Membranes with In Situ Co-cross-linked Polymer?Chitin Nanowhisker Network for Robust Oil-in-Water Emulsion Separation
作者：Jian-Xiang Wu, Jie Zhang, Yan-Li Kang, Gang Wu, Si-Chong Chen,* and Yu-Zhong Wang
關鍵字：Superhydrophilic nanofiber membrane, Co-cross-linked networks, Structural stability, Emulsion separation
論文來源：期刊
具體來源：ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
發表時間：2017年
The structural stability and mechanical strength of hydrophilic polymer nanofiber (NF) membranes are relatively low, because of the creep effect of polymer chain when swelling in water for a long time, which lead to a poor reusability in the fields of water treatment. In this work, we demonstrated a facile and green strategy for preparing eco-friendly hydrophilic nanofibrous membranes with excellent reusability and recyclability that could separate oil-in-water emulsion in practical conditions by using bio-based chitin nanowhiskers (ChNWs) as reinforcement and “co-crosslinking hub” for hydrophilic nanofiber matrix. The as-prepared membranes exhibited very good separation performance, with a separation flux of 1100? 1300 L m?2 h?1 and a separation efficiency of >99.5%. The reusability and recyclability of the membranes were evaluated and had proved to be robust enough to effectively separate emulsions after recycling at least 5 times. Moreover, the NF membranes were capable of effectively separating oil-in-water emulsions not only for a wide range of pH but also under hypersaline conditions. This work, as well as co-cross-linked strategies, enrich the exploration of superhydrophilic nanofibrous membranes for its significant potential in the field of oil spills and industrial oily wastewater treatments.