No abstract

Novel hybrid poly(vinylidene fluoride) ultrafiltration membranes were fabricated via immersion precipitation method through the incorporation of the halloysite nanotubes functionalized with 1-methyl-3-(3-triethoxysilypropyl) imidazolium chloride. The modified halloysite nanotubes were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, thermogravimetric analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. The morphologies of hybrid membranes were characterized by atomic force microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer, while the filtration and antifouling performance were investigated by means of porosity, mean pore radius, pure water permeability, rejection ratio, and flux recovery ratio. The addition of the modified halloysite nanotubes obviously improved the membrane hydrophilicity. Besides, the flux recovery ratios were as high as 96% for humic acid and 94% for bovine serum albumin after two filtration cycles. Finally, the modified membranes were used to separate diesel oil-water emulsions. The rejection ratio and flux recovery ratio were as high as 99% and 94%, respectively. The poly(vinylidene fluoride) membranes incorporated by the novel halloysite nanotubes provided a promising alternative for oil-water emulsions separation.