posted on 2024-02-26, 17:34authored byIrfan
Majeed Bhat, Saifullah Lone
The
development of a Janus membrane with contrasting chemical functionality/or
wettability on opposite faces has shown great promise as a passive
and energy-efficient oil/water separation technology. Notably, one
side of the membrane is designed hydrophilic (i.e., water-attracting
in air and underwater oleophobic) and the other hydrophobic (i.e.,
water-repelling in air and underwater oleophilic). The distinctive
surface wettability features of the membrane allow it to repel water
and attract oil without consuming energy, thus making it an attractive
technology for passively separating oil/water mixtures. The hydrophobic
face of the membrane captures oil droplets while allowing water to
pass through, and the hydrophilic side attracts water droplets and
allows oil to pass. Nonetheless, crafting a Janus membrane is complex,
tedious, and expensive. To overcome these limitations, an easy and
inexpensive two-step fabrication process for the Janus membrane is
proposed in this work. The first step involves creating a superhydrophilic
face by the hydrothermally guided deposition of nanoneedles on either
side of a commercially available hydrophobic carbon sheet. In the
second step, the double-faced surface is subjected to a pulsed laser
to create conical micropores studied for oil/water separation. The
fabricated membrane is economically affordable and environment friendly.
Besides being energy-efficient (as the separation process works passively),
the membrane demonstrates an efficient oil/water separating performance.
The potential application of this work is diverse and impactful, encompassing
wastewater treatment, oil spill cleanup, and various industrial separation
processes.