Molecular and structural design of polyacrylonitrile-based membrane for oil-water separation

Herein, a durable superhydrophobic/superoleophilic membrane with micro-/nano-hierarchical structure was achieved through molecular and structural design of fluorinated polyacrylonitrile-based membrane. In which, the introduction of perfluorooctanol acrylate into copolymer chain and usage of electrospinning/electrospraying technology followed by heat post-treatment provided low surface energy and durable hierarchical structure, respectively. The resultant membrane demonstrated superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity with water contact angle of 160° and oil contact angle of 0° in air, which endowed the membrane with excellent separation ability for oil/water mixture with separation efficiency above 99% and ultrahigh flux beyond 8000 L/m 2 /h. Furthermore, the obtained membrane maintained its superhydrophobicity after exposure to broad pH, organic solvents , high temperature and ultrasonic treatment, ascribed to the chemical reaction of cyano groups on the surface of fibers and particles during the heat post-treatment. This work provides a promising strategy to fabricate superwetting membrane to remove trace amount of water in oil.