An excellent antifouling
membrane with high permeate flux is required
for oil/water emulsion separation due to ever-increasing oily industrial
wastewater. Thus, an intriguing integration of the Omni-directional
protected porous membrane that combines a high porosity nanofiber
membrane with a surface segregation mechanism is established for the
first time. By applying polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)-terminated triblock
copolymer, the enrichment of the hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide)
(PEO) segment and the nonpolar PDMS segment on the surface of the
nanofiber endowed the nanofiber membrane with underwater oleophobicity
and low oil adhesion force, exhibiting oil resistance as well as oil
release property. An ultrahigh permeate flux of ∼7115 L m–2 h–1 with a separation efficiency
of ∼97.88% is achieved under the driving force of gravity (∼0.9
kPa), which is the highest permeate flux ever reported under similar
conditions. Moreover, the surface segregation nanofiber membrane shows
excellent reusability and ultrahigh permeate flux with the assistance
of stirring in a long-term test, revealing the promising performances
for the further particular application of oily wastewater.
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