Effective construction of anti-fouling zwitterion-functionalized ceramic membranes for separation of oil-in-water emulsion based on PDA/PEI co-deposition

Ceramic membranes have been widely used in oil-water separation owing to their characteristics of high flux, excellent chemical stability, strong hydrophilicity, and good fouling resistance. To further enhance their anti-fouling performance, a co-deposition reaction was employed for the surface modification of the ceramic mem-branes in this study. Polyethyleneimine and dopamine were used to introduce tertiary amine groups on the surface of the ceramic membranes, and sodium 2-bromoethanesulfonate was used for the quaternization reaction with tertiary amine groups. According to the water contact angle measurements, the ceramic membrane func-tionalized via zwitterionic modification exhibited better hydrophilicity and thus could absorb water droplets faster than pristine ceramic membranes. Consequently, the zwitterion-functionalized ceramic membrane ach-ieved double the permeance (40 L m- 2 h-1 bar-1) compared to the original ceramic membrane (20 L m- 2 h-1 bar -1) during the separation of the oil-in-water emulsion, suggesting good anti-fouling performance.

Automated summary

Ceramic membranes are widely used for oil-water separation due to their high flux, excellent chemical stability, strong hydrophilicity, and good fouling resistance. This study used a co-deposition reaction to modify the surface of ceramic membranes, enhancing their anti-fouling performance. The zwitterion-functionalized ceramic membrane showed improved hydrophilicity and achieved double the permeance compared to the original membrane during the separation of oil-in-water emulsion, indicating good anti-fouling performance.