Scalable and switchable CO2-responsive membranes with high wettability for separation of various oil/water systems

Yangyang Wang, Shaokang Yang, Jingwei Zhang, Zhuo Chen, Bo Zhu, Jian Li, Shijing Liang, Yunxiang Bai, Jianhong Xu, Dewei Rao, Liangliang Dong (), Chunfang Zhang and Xiaowei Yang
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Yangyang Wang: Jiangnan University
Shaokang Yang: Jiangsu University
Jingwei Zhang: Tsinghua University
Zhuo Chen: Tsinghua University
Bo Zhu: Jiangnan University
Jian Li: Jiangnan University
Shijing Liang: Fuzhou University
Yunxiang Bai: Jiangnan University
Jianhong Xu: Tsinghua University
Dewei Rao: Jiangsu University
Liangliang Dong: Jiangnan University
Chunfang Zhang: Jiangnan University
Xiaowei Yang: Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Smart membranes with responsive wettability show promise for controllably separating oil/water mixtures, including immiscible oil-water mixtures and surfactant-stabilized oil/water emulsions. However, the membranes are challenged by unsatisfactory external stimuli, inadequate wettability responsiveness, difficulty in scalability and poor self-cleaning performance. Here, we develop a capillary force-driven confinement self-assembling strategy to construct a scalable and stable CO2-responsive membrane for the smart separation of various oil/water systems. In this process, the CO2-responsive copolymer can homogeneously adhere to the membrane surface by manipulating the capillary force, generating a membrane with a large area up to 3600 cm2 and excellent switching wettability between high hydrophobicity/underwater superoleophilicity and superhydrophilicity/underwater superoleophobicity under CO2/N2 stimulation. The membrane can be applied to various oil/water systems, including immiscible mixtures, surfactant-stabilized emulsions, multiphase emulsions and pollutant-containing emulsions, demonstrating high separation efficiency (>99.9%), recyclability, and self-cleaning performance. Due to robust separation properties coupled with the excellent scalability, the membrane shows great implications for smart liquid separation.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36685-9

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