Ultrafast and On-Demand Oil/Water Separation Membrane System Based on Conducting Polymer Nanotip Arrays.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32567866.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c00911.
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Abstract
Ultrafast oil/water separation based on tunable superwettability switch remains a big challenge. Here, inspired by the ultrafast water transport mechanism in sarracenia, we develop a micro/nanostructured porous membrane with conducting polymer nanotip arrays through the surface-initiated polymerizations. By modulating the height (ranging from 49-529 nm) and redox states of nanotips, a smart reversible superwettability switch is facile to obtain with contact angles of water/oil arranging from 161° to about 0°. Besides, liquid transport speed was accelerated more than 1.5 times by increasing the nanotip length. The water flux could reach up to 50326 L m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> (1000 times that of a typical industrial ultrafiltration membrane). This is attributed to the stable and continuous water film along the nanotips, which provide a lubrication layer, leading to an increase of permeability. This work provides significant insights into macro/nanostructured membrane design for smart separation, blood lipid filtration, and smart nanoreactors with high permeability.