A novel polyurethane-polydimethylsiloxane/polylactic acid electrospinning fiber membrane for oil/water separation

To meet the demand for oil/water separation, a membrane is characterized by high flux and separation efficiency, recyclability, and good mechanical stability. Recently, controlled ring-opening copolymerization involving epoxides represents a valuable strategy for synthesizing polyurethane with a unique surface, biodegradability, and biocompatibility. In this work, a novel polyurethane- polydimethylsiloxane (PU-PDMS) polymer is synthesized under mild conditions to endow electrospinning polylactic acid (PLLA) with superhydrophobicity. PU-PDMS/PLLA fiber membrane possessed good mechanics performance. At 15 wt% of PU-PDMS, the tensile strength and elongation at break of blending fiber membrane are 2.02 ± 0.20 MPa and 35.65 ± 2.0 %, respectively. Its water contact angle reaches 155°, showing excellent oil/water separation properties. The permeation flux and the separation efficiency are individually 2531 ± 69 L m−2 h−1 and 99.4 ± 1 %. Meanwhile, the PU-PDMS/PLLA fiber membrane exhibits high stability and durability. So this is a simple, effective, and promising method for environmental protection and low energy consumption.