Journal
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
Volume 299, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.120119
Keywords
Electrospinning; Cellulose nanocrystals; Phase separation; Oil -in -water emulsions; Water purification
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In this study, cellulose nanocrystals were used to reinforce membranes, which showed improved swelling resistance, structural integrity, and regeneration capability. The modified membranes exhibited remarkable oil rejection and separation efficiency in oil-in-water emulsion separation tests.
Membranes for water remediation require structural stability, efficient operation, and durability. In this work, we used cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) to reinforce hierarchical nanofibrous membranes based on polyacrylonitrile (PAN). Hydrolysis of the electrospun nanofibers (H-PAN) enabled hydrogen bonding with CNC and provided reactive sites for grafting cationic polyethyleneimine (PEI). In a further modification, anionic silica particles (SiO2) were adsorbed on the fiber surfaces, obtaining CNC/H-PAN/PEI/SiO2 hybrid membranes, which developed swelling resistance (swelling ratio of 6.7 compared to 25.4 measured for a CNC/PAN membrane). Hence, the introduced hydrophilic membranes contain highly interconnected channels, they are non-swellable and exhibit mechanical and structural integrity. By contrast with untreated PAN membranes, those obtained after modification displayed high structural integrity and allowed regeneration and cyclic operation. Finally, wettability and oil-in-water emulsion separation tests demonstrated remarkable oil rejection and separation efficiency in aqueous media.
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