Dual-Bioinspired Design for Constructing Membranes with Superhydrophobicity for Direct Contact Membrane Distillation

Water flux and durability are the two critical parameters that are closely associated with the practical application of membrane distillation (MD). Herein, we report a facile approach to fabricate superhydrophobic polyimide nanofibrous membranes (PI NFMs) with hierarchical structures, interconnected...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2018-03, Vol.52 (5), p.3027-3036
Main Authors: Zhu, Zhigao, Liu, Yuanren, Hou, Haoqing, Shi, Wenxin, Qu, Fangshu, Cui, Fuyi, Wang, Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomimetics
Contact angle
Contaminants
Distillation
Distilled water
Durability
Fluorination
Hydrophobic surfaces
Hydrophobicity
Membranes
Nanoparticles
Polyethyleneimine
Porosity
Salts
Silica
Silicon dioxide
Structural hierarchy
Substrates
Surface tension
Wastewater treatment
Water resistance
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Summary:Water flux and durability are the two critical parameters that are closely associated with the practical application of membrane distillation (MD). Herein, we report a facile approach to fabricate superhydrophobic polyimide nanofibrous membranes (PI NFMs) with hierarchical structures, interconnected pores, and high porosity, which was derived from the electrospinning, dual-bioinspired design, and fluorination processes. Bioinspired adhesive based on polydopamine/polyethylenimine (PDA/PEI) composite was first linked onto membrane substrates and then assembled lotus leaf hierarchical structure by binding the negatively charged silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) via electrostatic attraction. The resultant superhydrophobic PI NFMs exhibit a water contact angle of 152°, robust hot water resistance of 85 °C, and high water entry pressure of 42 kPa. Moreover, the membrane with omniphobicity presents high water flux over 31 L m–2 h–1 and high salts rejection of ∼100% as well as robust durability for treating high salinity wastewater containing typical low surface tension and dissolved contaminants (ΔT = 40 °C). Significantly, the novel dual-bioinspired method can be used as a universal tool to modify various materials with hierarchical structures, which is expected to provide more effective alternative membranes for MD and even for other selective wetting separation fields.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.7b06227