Efficient separation of oil‐in‐water emulsion based on a superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic polyvinylidene fluoride membrane

Membrane materials have been extensively applied in the field of separation of oil–water mixtures. However, most membrane materials are limited to separate oil–water mixtures and difficult to separate stable oil–water emulsions. Therefore, the polymer membrane, which is a type of underwater superoleophobic membrane material, has attracted extensive attention for its excellent antipollution performance and emulsion separation ability. In this work, we combined the synthesized poly (acrylic acid)‐co‐poly(3‐[trimethoxysilyl]propyl methacrylate) (PAA‐co‐PTMSPMA) with micro–nanoparticles to modify polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes. By means of this strategy, PVDF membranes with excellent superhydrophilicity–underwater superoleophobicity were successfully fabricated. The obtained PVDF membrane could efficiently realize the separation of various oil‐in‐water emulsions, and the separation efficiency was greater than 99%. In addition, the separation efficiency of the modified superhydrophilic PVDF membrane maintained stable after 10 separation cycles (>98.6%). When relying on this simple and eco‐friendly preparation strategy, this superhydrophilic–underwater superoleophobic membrane material has broad application prospects in the field of industrial and domestic wastewater treatment.

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