TY - JOUR
T1 - Superhydrophilic polydopamine-assisted 2D/PES membranes for the effective separation of oil/water emulsions
AU - Jagaba, Ahmad Hussaini
AU - Elhussien, Abrar A.
AU - Baig, Nadeem
AU - Salhi, Billel
AU - Khan, Niaz Ali
AU - Aljundi, Isam H.
AU - Elsharif, Asma M.
AU - Abdulazeez, Ismail
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2025/8/30
Y1 - 2025/8/30
N2 - Oil-water separation is essential in wastewater treatment, petrochemical operations, and environmental remediation. However, conventional membranes often suffer from fouling, low flux recovery, and limited oil rejection, necessitating advanced materials for improved performance. In this study, PDA-functionalized WS2@PES and MoS2@PES membranes were developed for surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water emulsion separation. PDA modification enhanced hydrophilicity, mitigated the mechanical brittleness of TMDs, and improved nanosheet adhesion, reducing material loss over multiple cycles. Extensive characterization, including SEM, AFM, and water contact angle measurements, revealed that PDA-WS2@PES exhibited higher hydrophilicity and surface roughness, contributing to its superior separation efficiency. Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that WS2’s granular morphology and higher fractional free volume resulted in better permeability and antifouling properties compared to MoS2. Moreover, PDA-WS2@PES achieved a higher water flux of 6360 LHM/bar, better flux recovery of 95.4%, and oil rejection of 99.7% over multiple cycles. Elemental analysis after 15 separation cycles confirmed minimal WS2 leaching, with W and S loss of 18.19% and 4.40%, respectively, whereas PDA-MoS2@PES exhibited greater Mo and S loss of 19.79% and 17.55%, indicating higher material detachment. These findings highlight the potential of PDA-assisted 2D membranes as durable, high-performance materials for long-term oil–water separation, and could be further explored.
AB - Oil-water separation is essential in wastewater treatment, petrochemical operations, and environmental remediation. However, conventional membranes often suffer from fouling, low flux recovery, and limited oil rejection, necessitating advanced materials for improved performance. In this study, PDA-functionalized WS2@PES and MoS2@PES membranes were developed for surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water emulsion separation. PDA modification enhanced hydrophilicity, mitigated the mechanical brittleness of TMDs, and improved nanosheet adhesion, reducing material loss over multiple cycles. Extensive characterization, including SEM, AFM, and water contact angle measurements, revealed that PDA-WS2@PES exhibited higher hydrophilicity and surface roughness, contributing to its superior separation efficiency. Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that WS2’s granular morphology and higher fractional free volume resulted in better permeability and antifouling properties compared to MoS2. Moreover, PDA-WS2@PES achieved a higher water flux of 6360 LHM/bar, better flux recovery of 95.4%, and oil rejection of 99.7% over multiple cycles. Elemental analysis after 15 separation cycles confirmed minimal WS2 leaching, with W and S loss of 18.19% and 4.40%, respectively, whereas PDA-MoS2@PES exhibited greater Mo and S loss of 19.79% and 17.55%, indicating higher material detachment. These findings highlight the potential of PDA-assisted 2D membranes as durable, high-performance materials for long-term oil–water separation, and could be further explored.
KW - Fouling
KW - MD simulation
KW - MoS
KW - Oil-water separation
KW - TMDs
KW - WS
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105000499919
U2 - 10.1016/j.seppur.2025.132563
DO - 10.1016/j.seppur.2025.132563
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105000499919
SN - 1383-5866
VL - 364
JO - Separation and Purification Technology
JF - Separation and Purification Technology
M1 - 132563
ER -
