Strong Flexible Ceramic Nanofiber Membranes for Ultrafast Separation of Oil Pollutants

Abstract

Super strong, highly flexible ceramic nanofiber membranes (CNFMs) with amorphous SiO2 and small-sized zirconia grains were prepared, and then hydrophobic CNFMs (SCNFMs) were obtained by impregnating vinyl silicone resins. SCNFMs had high strength (6.0–11.4 MPa), ultrahigh flexibility, and water and chemical resistance. These characteristics enabled them to be used in a variety of water and oil environments and to rapidly separate oil slicks, dispersed oils, and emulsified oils on demand. SCNFMs not only had excellent selective adsorption and high adsorption capacity (28–57 g g–1) but also had high resilience, high temperature resistance, and flame retardancy, which enabled them to remove contaminants by squeezing and combustion, with a reuse efficiency of 100%. Only by gravity, the SCNFMs could effectively separate oil/water mixtures and surfactant-stabilized water-in-oil emulsions with a flux of up to 6.7 × 105 and 2.5 × 105 L m–2 h–1, respectively. The ultrafast separation speed was on the order of magnitude of that obtained for many separation materials reported so far. The recyclable and environmentally friendly separation material, with excellent mechanical properties, high adsorption capacity, and separation efficiency, had potential applications in the fields of oil/water separation.

Enhancing the β Phase of Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Nanofibrous Membranes for Thermostable Separators in Lithium-Ion Batteries

“…Apart from the above properties of the separator, safety performance has always been the most concerning and crucial problem that requires urgent settlement . The ceramic nanoparticle coating has been proven to be an effective technique for improving the thermal stability of membranes. − However, traditional coating-modified strategies have not taken the membrane thickness and weight into consideration, which could lead to reduced LIB energy density . Furthermore, the coating layer stripping from separators will not only dramatically lower the practical performance but also possibly cause serious LIB safety problems …”

Chemical and structural induced ductile-to-brittle transition in electrospun silica nanofiber membranes

“…polyamide (PA) are already widely used for water and gas filtration [7]- [11]. While most research has focused on polymeric nanofibers in the past, great attention is currently being given to inorganic nanofibers [12]- [14]. Inorganic nanofibers offer the advantages of a higher thermal and chemical resistance than most polymeric nanofibers [12].…”

Electrospinning of Fluorine-Free Waterproof–Breathable Nanofiber Membranes with Thermal Regulation for Anticounterfeiting

“…As living standards have improved, the demand for higher levels of protection and comfort of the textile has grown exponentially. − The core of achieving the functionalities of protective and comfortable textiles lies in waterproof and breathable membranes (WBMs), which can be categorized into hydrophilic nonporous membranes and hydrophobic microporous membranes . Microporous membranes use a size exclusion theory to prevent water droplets from penetrating and permit moisture molecules to transport. − However, the thermo-regulation performance of conventional microporous membranes is passively responsive to clothing microclimate changes.…”