Hydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic graphene oxide membrane intercalated by TiO<sub>2</sub> nanotubes for oil/water separation

doi:10.1007/s11783-018-1042-y

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2018, Vol. 12

Issue (3) : 15 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-018-1042-y

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Hydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic graphene oxide membrane intercalated by TiO₂ nanotubes for oil/water separation

Zhichao Wu, Chang Zhang, Kaiming Peng, Qiaoying Wang(

), Zhiwei Wang

State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China

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Abstract

GO/TiO₂ membrane was prepared by assembling GO nanosheets and TiO₂ nanotubes.

The intercalation of TiO₂ nanotubes enlarged the space of GO interlayers and modified the surface morphology.

Hydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic property of GO/TiO₂ membrane was obtained.

Water permeability, hydrophilicity, oleophobicity and antifouling ability of GO-based membrane were all enhanced by intercalating TiO₂ nontubes.

Membrane technology for oil/water separation has received increasing attention in recent years. In this study, the hydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic membrane with enhanced water permeability and antifouling ability were fabricated by synergistically assembling graphene oxide(GO) nanosheets and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanotubes for oil/water separation. GO/TiO₂ membrane exhibits hydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic properties with water contact angle of 62° and under water oil contact angle of 162.8°. GO/TiO₂ membrane shows greater water permeability with the water flux up to 531 L/(m²·h·bar), which was more than 5 times that of the pristine GO membrane. Moreover, GO/TiO₂membrane had excellent oil/water separation efficiency and anti-oil-fouling capability, as oil residual in filtrate after separation was below 5 mg/L and flux recovery ratios were over 80%.The results indicate that the intercalation of TiO₂ nanotubes into adjacent GO nanosheets enlarged the channel structure and modified surface topography of the obtained GO/TiO₂ membranes, which improved the hydrophilicity, permeability and anti-oil-fouling ability of the membranes, enlightening the great prospects of GO/TiO₂ membrane in oil-water treatment.

Keywords Hydrophilic Superoleophobic Graphene oxide Membrane Titanium dioxide nanotubes Oil-water separation

Corresponding Author(s): Qiaoying Wang

Issue Date: 19 April 2018

Cite this article:

Zhichao Wu,Chang Zhang,Kaiming Peng, et al. Hydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic graphene oxide membrane intercalated by TiO₂ nanotubes for oil/water separation[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2018, 12(3): 15.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-018-1042-y
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2018/V12/I3/15

Fig.1 Schematic diagram of the fabrication process of GO and GO/TiO₂ membranes via vacuum-assisted filtration

Fig.2 SEM images of (a) GO membrane, (b) GO/TiO₂ membrane (TiO₂/GO= 2), (c) GO/TiO₂ membrane (TiO₂/GO= 4), (d) GO/TiO₂ membrane (TiO₂/GO= 6), and (e) GO/TiO₂ membrane (TiO₂/GO= 8). (f) XRD patterns of GO membrane and GO/TiO₂ membrane

Fig.3 Photographs of GO/TiO₂ (a, b) and GO (c, d) membranes before and after ultra-sonication and oscillation

Fig.4 Permeate flux of GO/TiO₂ membranes with different TiO₂/GO mass ratios

Fig.5 (a) Apparent water contact angles in air and (b) apparent oil contact angle under water of GO/TiO₂ membranes with different TiO₂/GO mass ratios. Snap shots of the oil/water/membrane interfaces of (c) GO and (d) GO/TiO₂ membranes (TiO₂/GO= 4). Snap shots of underwater oil adhesion test of (e) GO membrane and (f) GO/TiO₂ membrane (TiO₂/GO= 4)

Fig.6 (a) Oil/water separation performance of GO and GO/TiO₂ membranes, and (b) Schematic representation of oil/water separation mechanism

Fig.7 Flux recovery test of GO and GO/TiO₂ membranes with different mass ratios of TiO₂/GO (a, b). Flux recovery test of GO/TiO₂ membranes in different concentration of oil emulsion (c, d)

Tab.1 Permeate flux, oil rejection ratio and flux recovery ratio of GO/TiO₂ membrane and commercial ultrafiltration membrane.

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