Surface & Coatings Technology | 2019
Thin film metallic glass as an effective coating for enhancing oil/water separation of electrospun polyacrylonitrile membrane
Abstract
Abstract Thin film metallic glass (TFMG) is next-generation materials that are gaining importance in surface modification. In this work, we used magnetron sputtering to coat electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membrane with Zr-based TFMG (Zr53Cu26Al16Ni5) to enable the separation of oil and water. The proposed coating also provides protection from chemical and thermal degradation as well as irreversible internal fouling. The smooth TFMG coating also provides a strongly hydrophobic surface (water contact angle of 136°). We also investigated the effects of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant on oil/water separation performance. The resulting combination of the hydrophobic TFMG-coated membrane with the surfactant enabled oil rejection performance ranging from 95% to 100%, depending on the concentration of SDS. This work confirms that membrane-related problems such as fouling, chemical, and thermal stability can be resolved through the application of metallic glass coatings.