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 degrees. The high hydrophobicity remained after 50 abrasion experiments, and the WCA was still greater than 150 degrees 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/DTMSSiO2@PLA membrane can be applied to practical oil-water separation.