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Wang Y, Villalobos LF, Liang L, Zhu B, Li J, Chen C, Bai Y, Zhang C, Dong L, An QF, Meng H, Zhao Y, Elimelech M. Scalable weaving of resilient membranes with on-demand superwettability for high-performance nanoemulsion separations. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadn3289. [PMID: 38924410 PMCID: PMC11204282 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn3289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
This study leverages the ancient craft of weaving to prepare membranes that can effectively treat oil/water mixtures, specifically challenging nanoemulsions. Drawing inspiration from the core-shell architecture of spider silk, we have engineered fibers, the fundamental building blocks for weaving membranes, that feature a mechanically robust core for tight weaving, coupled with a CO2-responsive shell that allows for on-demand wettability adjustments. Tightly weaving these fibers produces membranes with ideal pores, achieving over 99.6% separation efficiency for nanoemulsions with droplets as small as 20 nm. They offer high flux rates, on-demand self-cleaning, and can switch between sieving oil and water nanodroplets through simple CO2/N2 stimulation. Moreover, weaving can produce sufficiently large membranes (4800 cm2) to assemble a module that exhibits long-term stability and performance, surpassing state-of-the-art technologies for nanoemulsion separations, thus making industrial application a practical reality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangyang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, P. R. China
| | - Luis Francisco Villalobos
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Lijun Liang
- College of Automation, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, P. R. China
| | - Bo Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Eco-textiles, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, P. R. China
| | - Jian Li
- Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Energy and Carbon Reduction Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, P. R. China
| | - Chen Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, P. R. China
| | - Yunxiang Bai
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, P. R. China
| | - Chunfang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, P. R. China
| | - Liangliang Dong
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, P. R. China
| | - Quan-Fu An
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Green Catalysis and Separation, Department of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, P. R. China
| | - Hong Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Utilization of Carbon-based Energy Resources Institution, College of Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, P. R. China
| | - Yue Zhao
- Département de Chimie, Université de Sherbrooke; Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Menachem Elimelech
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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Liu H, Wang Y, Zhu B, Li H, Liang L, Li J, Rao D, Yan Q, Bai Y, Zhang C, Dong L, Meng H, Zhao Y. Engineering Dual CO 2- and Photothermal-Responsive Membranes for Switchable Double Emulsion Separation. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024; 36:e2311013. [PMID: 38341656 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202311013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2023] [Revised: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Stimulus-responsive membranes demonstrate promising applications in switchable oil/water emulsion separations. However, they are unsuitable for the treatment of double emulsions like oil-in-water-in-oil (O/W/O) and water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsions. For efficient separation of these complicated emulsions, fine control over the wettability, response time, and aperture structure of the membrane is required. Herein, dual-coated fibers consisting of primary photothermal-responsive and secondary CO2-responsive coatings are prepared by two steps. Automated weaving of these fibers produces membranes with photothermal- and CO2-responsive characteristics and narrow pore size distributions. These membranes exhibit fast switching wettability between superhydrophilicity (under CO2 stimulation) and high hydrophobicity (under near-infrared stimulation), achieving on-demand separation of various O/W/O and W/O/W emulsions with separation efficiencies exceeding 99.6%. Two-dimensional low-field nuclear magnetic resonance and correlated spectra technique are used to clarify the underlying mechanism of switchable double emulsion separation. The approach can effectively address the challenges associated with the use of stimulus-responsive membranes for double emulsion separation and facilitate the industrial application of these membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haohao Liu
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, P. R. China
| | - Yangyang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, P. R. China
| | - Bo Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Eco-textiles, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, P. R. China
| | - Hao Li
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, 300130, P. R. China
| | - Lijun Liang
- College of Automation, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018, P. R. China
| | - Jian Li
- Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Energy and Carbon Reduction Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, P. R. China
| | - Dewei Rao
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, P. R. China
| | - Qiang Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, P. R. China
| | - Yunxiang Bai
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, P. R. China
| | - Chunfang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, P. R. China
| | - Liangliang Dong
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, P. R. China
| | - Hong Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Utilization of Carbon Based Energy Resources, College of Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, 830046, P. R. China
| | - Yue Zhao
- Département de Chimie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1K 2R1, Canada
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Huang T, Su Z, Hou K, Zeng J, Zhou H, Zhang L, Nunes SP. Advanced stimuli-responsive membranes for smart separation. Chem Soc Rev 2023. [PMID: 37184537 DOI: 10.1039/d2cs00911k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Membranes have been extensively studied and applied in various fields owing to their high energy efficiency and small environmental impact. Further conferring membranes with stimuli responsiveness can allow them to dynamically tune their pore structure and/or surface properties for efficient separation performance. This review summarizes and discusses important developments and achievements in stimuli-responsive membranes. The most commonly utilized stimuli, including light, pH, temperature, ions, and electric and magnetic fields, are discussed in detail. Special attention is given to stimuli-responsive control of membrane pore structure (pore size and porosity/connectivity) and surface properties (wettability, surface topology, and surface charge), from the perspective of determining the appropriate membrane properties and microstructures. This review also focuses on strategies to prepare stimuli-responsive membranes, including blending, casting, polymerization, self-assembly, and electrospinning. Smart applications for separations are also reviewed as well as a discussion of remaining challenges and future prospects in this exciting field. This review offers critical insights for the membrane and broader materials science communities regarding the on-demand and dynamic control of membrane structures and properties. We hope that this review will inspire the design of novel stimuli-responsive membranes to promote sustainable development and make progress toward commercialization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiefan Huang
- Functional Membrane Materials Engineering Research Center of Hunan Province, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, 411201, China.
| | - Zhixin Su
- Functional Membrane Materials Engineering Research Center of Hunan Province, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, 411201, China.
| | - Kun Hou
- Functional Membrane Materials Engineering Research Center of Hunan Province, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, 411201, China.
| | - Jianxian Zeng
- Functional Membrane Materials Engineering Research Center of Hunan Province, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, 411201, China.
| | - Hu Zhou
- Functional Membrane Materials Engineering Research Center of Hunan Province, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, 411201, China.
| | - Lin Zhang
- Engineering Research Center of Membrane and Water Treatment of MOE, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China.
- Academy of Ecological Civilization, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Suzana P Nunes
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Nanostructured Polymeric Membranes Laboratory, Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
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CO2-responsive nanofibrous membranes with gas-tunable wettability for switchable oil/water separation. REACT FUNCT POLYM 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.reactfunctpolym.2022.105481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Ye X, Zhou J, Zhang C, Wang Y. Controlled biomolecules separation by CO2-responsive block copolymer membranes. J Memb Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2022.121022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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PAN/PVA composite nanofibrous membranes for separating oil-in-water emulsion. JOURNAL OF POLYMER RESEARCH 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10965-022-02954-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Sun Y, Liu Y, Zhang X, Zhang W, Wang X, Yue Y, Guo J, Yu Y. A CO2-stimulus responsive PVDF/PVDF-g-PDEAEMA blend membrane capable of cleaning protein foulants by alternate aeration of N2/CO2. Sep Purif Technol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2021.119680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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