Preparation and characterization of attapulgite-based nanofibrous membranes

Inspired by the woodpile and irregular entanglement phenomenon, attapulgite (AT)-based nanofibrous membranes (NFMs) with different poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) contents were fabricated via a facile method consisting of pulping, handsheet making and low temperature drying process. In this study, the dispersion state and rheological behavior of AT with different PVA contents were studied. A “woodpile” structure of AT-based NFMs was proposed and discussed. AT-based NFMs showed high porosity (above 50%), high tensile strength (12.5   MPa) and elongation at break (1.9%). Furthermore, the optimized AT-9 exhibited low pore size (around 10   nm), good hydrophilicity (contact angle, 31.3°), high pure water flux (105   L   m −   2   h −   1   bar −   1 ) and high rejection (0.1   MPa, 99.4%) for oil/water emulsion, suggesting a promising candidate for wastewater treatment applications. This work also provides a new insight into the design and development of inorganic-based NFMs.