Preparation of superhydrophobic PDMS/DTMS-SiO2@PLA membrane for oil-water separation with three-dimensional layered porous structure by simple spraying

A superhydrophobic PDMS/DTMS-SiO2@PLA membrane with a porous layered three-dimensional rough structure was obtained by a simple phase separation method for the preparation of polylactic acid (PLA) membrane with the addition of a layer of functionalized DTMS-SiO2 nanoparticles. SEM, EDS, XPS, TGA, and FTIR were used to characterize the surface morphology and chemical composition of the PDMS/DTMS-SiO2@PLA membrane. The static water contact angle of the modified membrane could reach 160.7°. The high hydrophobicity remained after 50 abrasion experiments, and the WCA was still greater than 150° after 4 hours of immersion in different pH solutions. For petroleum ether, n-hexane, n-heptane, and isooctane mixtures with water, the modified membrane exhibited excellent oil-water separation capabilities in separation flux and efficiency. Meanwhile, the modified membrane also has good resistance to contamination and self-cleaning ability. Due to the advantages of simple preparation, degradable materials, mechanical stability, chemical resistance, excellent oil-water separation capability, good anti-pollution, and self-cleaning ability, superhydrophobic PDMS/DTMS-SiO2@PLA membrane can be applied to practical oil-water separation.