Robust preparation of superhydrophobic polymer/carbon nanotube hybrid membranes for highly effective removal of oils and separation of water-in-oil emulsions

Abstract

A facile and robust strategy for fabricating superhydrophobic polymer/carbon nanotube hybrid membranes via covalent attachment of hydrophobic polymer, such as polystyrene onto carbon nanotube membrane is proposed. The as-prepared hybrid membranes can selectively remove a wide range of organic solvents from water with high absorption capacity and good recyclability. Moreover, the obtained membrane shows excellent separation properties for surfactant-stabilized water in oil emulsions with separation efficiency as high as 99.94% and high flux (5000 L m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹). Therefore, the superhydrophobic hybrid membranes enable an efficient separation for various oil/water emulsions, showing attractive potential for practical oil/water separation.