Multifunctional Applications of Blow-Spinning Setaria viridis Structured Fibrous Membranes in Water Purification

With increasing water pollution and human health problems caused by oily wastewater, the fabrication of oil-water separation materials has become an urgent task. However, most of the reported materials have a single function and poor performance. In this paper, a multifunctional zinc oxide/polyaniline/ polyacrylonitrile (ZnO/PANI/PAN) nanofibrous membrane with needle-like ZnO nanorods was prepared by in situ synthesis of PANI and a hydrothermal reaction on a highly stable self-standing PAN blow-spinning fibrous membrane. Due to the electronic synergistic effect of ZnO and PANI, the fibrous membrane exhibits excellent antibacterial activity and visible-light degradation ability of organic dyes. Moreover, the micro-/nanosized pores of the ZnO/PANI/PAN fibrous membranes also guarantee its excellent emulsion separation performance, including an ultrahigh surfactant-free emulsion permeate flux (similar to 8597.40 L/(m(2) h)), ultrahigh surfactant-stabilized emulsion permeate flux (similar to 2253.50 L/(m(2) h)), and excellent separation efficiency (above 99%). Furthermore, the composite membrane maintains stable underwater superoleophobicity and hydrophilicity under adverse conditions, shows good biological safety, and is harmless to the water environment. These excellent properties endow the ZnO/PANI/PAN nanofibrous membranes with great potential in treating oily wastewater.

Automated summary

This study developed a multifunctional zinc oxide/polyaniline/polyacrylonitrile nanofibrous membrane with excellent antibacterial and organic dye degradation properties, as well as outstanding oil-water separation performance.