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Transition sandwich Janus membrane of cellulose acetate and polyurethane nanofibers for oil–water separation

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Abstract

Through sequential electrospinning, a sandwich Janus membrane (PU-(CA/PU)-CA) was constructed with hydrophobic polyurethane (PU) nanofiber membrane as the top layer, cellulose acetate/polyurethane (CA/PU) blend nanofiber membrane as the intermediate transition layer and hydrophilic cellulose acetate (CA) nanofiber membrane as the bottom layer. The effects of membrane structure, composition and thickness on the mechanical properties, permeability and separation ability of PU-(CA/PU)-CA nanofiber membrane were studied. The results show that the transition sandwich structure PU-(CA/PU)-CA membrane has good mechanical properties, high permeability and selective separation ability, and can realize the unidirectional transmission of water and efficient oil–water separation. When the membrane thickness is 80 μm, the hydraulic permeability is 3.4 ± 0.4 × 104 L/(m2 h bar), the oil–water separation efficiency reaches 99 ± 0.4%, and the tensile strength is 95.8% higher than that of the double-layer PU-CA membrane. The thermal stability and antifouling ability of PU-(CA/PU)-CA nanofiber membrane have also been improved, and the reusability is good. CA/PU transition interlayer improves the interfacial compatibility between CA and PU nanofiber membrane, enhances the performance of PU-(CA/PU)-CA nanofiber Janus membrane, and shows its application prospect in the field of separation and purification.

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Acknowledgments

This work was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 22075189, 51803128, 52073186), Strategic Cooperation between Sichuan University and Yibin City (No. 2019CDYB-30), Strategic Project of Zi Gong Science & Technology Bureau (Nos. 2019CDZG-S15, 2020CDZG-15), and Funding of Engineering Characteristic Team, Sichuan University (2020SCUNG122).

Funding

This work was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 22075189, 51803128, 52073186), Strategic Cooperation between Sichuan University and Yibin City (No. 2019CDYB-30), Strategic Project of Zi Gong Science & Technology Bureau (Nos. 2019CDZG-S15, 2020CDZG-15), and Funding of Engineering Characteristic Team, Sichuan University (2020SCUNG122).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Biomass Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

    Yong Zhang, Yuan Zhou, Anrong Yao, Yanting Han, Yidong Shi, Fei Cheng, Mi Zhou, Puxin Zhu & Lin Tan

  2. College of Physics and Technology Engineering, Chengdu Normal University, Chengdu, 611130, China

    Mei Yang

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  1. Yong Zhang
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  8. Mi Zhou
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Contributions

Yong Zhang: Conceptualization, Data Curation, Writing—Original Draft, Funding acquisition. Mei Yang: Formal analysis. Yuan Zhou: Investigation, Data Curation. Anrong Yao: Investigation, Data Curation, Writing—Original Draft. Yanting Han: Data Curation. Yidong Shi: Project administration. Fei Cheng: Resources. Mi Zhou: Resources. Puxin Zhu: Supervision. Lin Tan: Conceptualization, Methodology, Project administration, Funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Lin Tan.

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Zhang, Y., Yang, M., Zhou, Y. et al. Transition sandwich Janus membrane of cellulose acetate and polyurethane nanofibers for oil–water separation. Cellulose 29, 1841–1853 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-021-04402-8

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