CNTs/TiO2 composite membrane with adaptable wettability for on-demand oil/water separation

Pre-wetting induced separation membranes are of great significance due to their unique property for separating oil/water mixtures. Herein, we have presented a facile strategy to prepare a separation membrane by integrating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs). The obtained CNTs/TiO2 composite membrane has presented smart wettability to activate on-demand separation for expected components from oil/water mixtures. In addition, it can maintain its separation efficiency above 99.1% even after ten cyclic separations. It is rather remarkable that this composite membrane has taken on excellent separation performance with the flux up to 40,000 L m(-2) h(-1) bar(-1) for water-in-dichloromethane emulsion and separation efficiency above 98.89%, which has surpassed most of the reported separation membranes to date. Furthermore, the CNTs/TiO2 membrane has feathered excellent corrosion resistance ability under harsh conditions (HCl, NaOH, NaCl) for 7 days, and can show stable permeation flux and efficiency towards various emulsions. This work will provide further guidance for developing CNTs-based membranes in order to realize task-oriented oily water treatment. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.