Facile preparation of halloysite nanotube-modified polyvinylidene fluoride composite membranes for highly efficient oil/water emulsion separation

The worldwide oily wastewater is one of the most serious environmental problems. The current membrane separation technology has received an increasing attention toward oil/water emulsions separation. Here, a high-efficient superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic membrane with improved antifouling property was fabricated based on modified halloysite nanotubes anchored at polyvinylidene fluoride/graphene oxide membrane surface via polydopamine adhesive. The composite membrane exhibited an outstanding antifouling performance as well as high pure water flux (1500 L m⁻² h⁻¹) under gravity driven. Besides, the as-prepared composite membrane could separate both surfactant-free and surfactant-stabilized oil/water emulsions with separation efficiency up to 99.5%. Moreover, this facile preparation and eco-friendly composite membrane provides promising practical application toward environmental remediation.