Superhydrophobic ZIF-8-based fibrous membranes for highly effective oil-water separation

The superhydrophobic membranes with low-cost, eco-friendly, and high-performance is a current research focus. In this paper, ZIF-8 particles are synthesized at room temperature and subsequently mixed with graphene oxide with controlled proportions. The resulting composite membrane is fabricated on a fibrous substrate via vacuum filtration. By tailoring the surface microstructure, the wettability of the composite film is effectively modulated. Experimental results demonstrate that the membrane exhibits superhydrophobicity, with a water contact angle of 156° and a separation flux of 31,428.77 L·m −2 ·h −1 for low-viscosity oils. The membrane shows excellent separation efficiency (>99 %) across oils with varying viscosities. Furthermore, the separation performance remains stable, with efficiency above 99 % after 20 cycles and above 98 % after a 30-day long-term test. The combination of facile preparation, environmental friendliness, and outstanding separation performance highlights the potential of this composite membrane for low-cost, high-efficiency oil-water separation applications.