Superwetting membranes: from controllable constructions to efficient separations

Abstract

Exploitation in superwetting surfaces including non-wetted (liquid contact angle>150°) and fully-wetted (liquid contact angle<10°) surfaces has a long history, and it is still a hot topic from fundamentals to applications...

Hydrogel/β-FeOOH-Coated Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Membranes with Superhydrophilicity/Underwater Superoleophobicity Facilely Fabricated via an Aqueous Approach for Multifunctional Applications

“…Currently, combining hierarchical microstructures and high surface energy to design and create a superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic surface, membrane materials with such special wettability have been used for effectively removing oil from oily wastewater [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Especially hydrogel coatings, possessing crosslinked polymer networks filled with abundant water, have created enormous interest in designing and constructing underwater superoleophobic materials [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”

A hierarchically porous sponge for stabilized emulsion separation with high filtration flux and separation efficiency

“…[5][6][7][8] Most of these materials can only separate oil-water mixtures, and emulsion separation (common in real-life scenarios) is difficult in the eld because the emulsied droplets usually do not easily coalesce due to the interface-active components and robust oilwater interface lm. [9][10][11][12] The large pores in the materials can improve the separation or adsorption capacity and speed, but they are invalid for oil-water emulsion separation because the pore sizes are larger than the droplet sizes in the emulsion. 13,14 Thus, many materials used for emulsion separation are developed based on the size-sieving mechanism.…”

Self-cleaning expanded polytetrafluoroethylene-based hybrid membrane for water filtration

“…Membrane separation has been applied for water treatment worldwide because it is characterized as economic, 1 energy-saving, 2 easy to operate and high efficiency. 3,4 Over the past decades, a series of membranes made of polyvinylidene fluoride, 5 polyvinyl chloride, 6 polysulfone, 7 polystyrene, 8 polyacrylonitrile 9 and polypropylene have been developed to meet different filtration requirements. However, membrane fouling is still a key challenge in practice.…”