There is a critical need for new energy-efficient solutions to separate oil-water mixtures, especially those stabilized by surfactants. Traditional membrane-based separation technologies are energy-intensive and further limited, either by fouling or the inability of a single membrane to separate all types of oil-water mixtures. The ideal membrane for solely gravity-driven separation of oil-water mixtures is expected to be both hydrophilic and oleophobic, in air and under water. In this work we developed reconfigurable membranes that, counter-intuitively, are both superhydrophilic (i.e., water contact angles ? 0�) and superoleophobic (i.e., oil contact angles > 150�). These membranes were designed by systematically tailoring the membrane porosity and the membrane-water interfacial energy. The developed fouling-resistant membranes can separate, for the first-time, all types of oil-water mixtures, with > 99% separation efficiency.

Hygro-responsive membranes for effective oil-water separation

244th National Meeting (2012)

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