Biodegradable and hydrophobic nanofibrous membranes produced by solution blow spinning for efficient oil/water separation

Abstract

The development of nanofibrous oil-water separation materials is explosively progressing, but the remarkably low productivity is the main factor hindering their practical application. In this study, biodegradable polybutylene succinate (PBS) nanofibers with excellent productivity (27.0 g/h per nozzle) were successfully fabricated using the solution blow spinning (SBS) process, breaking away from the conventional electrospinning method. The prepared PBS nanofibers exhibited extremely thin fiber diameters (130 nm) with high porosity (97.4%). Without any chemical modification or inorganic/organic hybrid materialization, the PBS nanofibrous membrane showed excellent oil adsorption capacity (minimum: 18.7 g/g and maximum: 38.5 g/g) and separation efficiency; water and oil mixtures (99.4–99.98%) and emulsions (98.1–99.5%) compared to conventional organic polymer-based nanofibers. In terms of disposal after use, this biodegradable nanofibrous membrane was able to return to nature through hydrolysis and biodegradation processes.