Fabrication of fibrous MXene nanoribbons (MNRs) membrane with efficient performance for oil-water separation

Oily wastewater discharge due to industrial activities and oil spills has taken great tolls on human health and global environment. Fabrication of high-efficiency membrane is of critical importance since membrane separation has emerged as one of the best solutions to oily wastewater problem. In this work, fibrous MXene nanoribbons (MNRs) were firstly prepared and then combined with mixed cellulose (MCE) membrane to obtain a novel two-dimensional MCE-MNRs membrane. The MCE-MNRs membrane displayed superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity, corresponding to outstanding resistance to oil droplets. The filtration experiments illustrated that the MCE-MNRs membrane possessed an extremely high pure water permeance (PWP) of 15860 L m −2 h −1 ·bar −1 , and simultaneously over 99% rejection rates for filtration of four typical oil-water mixtures (diesel, gasoline, edible oil and n -hexane). The performance outperforms those of the state-of-the-art membranes for oil-water separation to our knowledge. The excellent performance can be put down to a water layer formed on the membrane surface during filtration, which allow water to pass through freely but block oil droplets. In addition, the MCE-MNRs membrane possessed the photocatalytic self-cleaning ability which can efficiently raise the flux recovery rate (FRR) by ultraviolet light irradiation. The facile preparation method and excellent separation performance of the MCE-MNRs membrane cater to the current industrial production needs and show a promising application prospect in oil-water separation. • Fibrous MXene nanoribbons (MNRs) were prepared by a facile alkalization method. • A novel membrane was obtained by coating MNRs on mixed cellulose (MCE). • MCE-MNRs membrane had an extremely high flux of 15860.24 L m −2 h −1 ·bar −1 • MCE-MNRs membrane had over 99% rejection for four typical oil-water mixtures. • MCE-MNRs membrane illustrated good photocatalytic self-cleaning ability.