Smart membranes for oil/water emulsions separation: A review

A self-cleaning polyacrylonitrile fiber membrane modified by photocatalytic nanoparticles and zwitterionic polymer brushes for oil/water separation

“…27 Because of the formation of a strong hydration layer on the membrane surface, the WR material has the characteristics of superoleophobicity and oil resistance, which can prevent the diffusion, wetting and penetration of oil in water, and is usually suitable for light oil/water separation. 26,28,29 Cheng et al prepared a high oil resistance membrane by grafting zwitterions on the surface of fabric, and the contact angle of methylene chloride on the surface of the membrane has no noticeable change (150-1511) when the pH value changes from 1 to 11, indicating that the fabric membrane has excellent chemical stability. 30 Generally, the problem of membrane contamination is difficult to avoid in the process of oil-water separation.…”

Bioinspired Under-Liquid Dual Superlyophobic Surface for On-Demand Oil/Water Separation

“…Oil/water separation has become a serious challenge on the global scale because of the frequent oil spillages into the ocean and endless release of oily wastewaters from industrial and domestic sources. − Membrane technology representing a simple, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly method can efficiently separate both immiscible and emulsified oils from water; therefore, it has attracted considerable attention from researchers in recent years. In particular, membranes with unique wettability properties (either superhydrophilic or superhydrophobic ones − ) demonstrate high affinity for water or oil, which enables the effective separation of oil/water mixtures.…”

Bioinspired hierarchical colloidal crystal paper with Janus wettability for oil/water separation and heavy metal ion removal

“…Materials capable of adsorbing heavy metals require desorption regeneration through a sophisticated procedure after adsorption, rendering them useless in treating oil/water mixtures. [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] Given the complexity of the wastewater compo-sition, an efficient wastewater treatment approach requires not only the separation of oil from water but also the simultaneous removal of water-soluble contaminants. 41,42 Therefore, bifunctional membranes capable of separating oil/water mixtures and reversibly adsorbing soluble pollutants are sought after.…”