Mechanical response of surface wettability of Janus porous membrane and its application in oil–water separation

Abstract Smart surfaces with switchable wettability are widely studied for environmental application. Although a large number of stimulation routes provide broad prospects for the development of smart surfaces, achieving high sensitivity, fast response and recovery, simple operation, security and good stability is still challenging. Herein, a Janus membrane via electrospinning, chemical bath deposition and heat treatment is constructed. By using the hydrophilic ZIF-L nanosheet to functionalize the hydrophobic thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) substrate, a smart surface utilizes the ZIF-L crack induced by strain in the hydrophilic layer to control surface wettability is obtained. In the range of 0%–100% strain, the wettability of the smart surface presents an obvious change with stretching, and water contact angle of the surface shows a monotonic increase with a maximum tuning range from 47° to 114°. Due to local fusion of the TPU microfibers and good binding between the ZIF-L layer and the TPU substrate after heat treatment, the prepared Janus membrane exhibits consistent and symmetrical hydrophilic–hydrophobic–hydrophilic transition curves in 50 stretching-releasing cycles. Thanks to the porous and asymmetric architecture, the membrane shows good oil–water separation performance, and the separation flux increases with the increase of strain, while the separation efficiency is always higher than 98%. Because of the excellent structural stability, the robust membrane with 100% strain maintains its oil–water separation property for 50 stretching-releasing cycles. This study provides a new perspective for the development of smart material with stimuli responsive surface for oily wastewater purification.