A facile fabrication of PU/rGO/MoS2 self-cleaning fibrous membrane for oil-water separation

Electrospun membranes have unique properties to treat water containing various pollutants such as oils, dyes, bacteria, heavy metal ions, etc. The present work comprises the facile fabrication of the functionalized polyurethane (PU) fibrous membrane by doping reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and molybdenum sulfide (MoS2). Complete optimization of the fabricated PU/rGO/MoS2 fibrous membrane was performed to evaluate its ability in oil sorption, dye adsorption, and heavy metal ion removal. The increment in hydrophobicity of PU with functionalization paved the way for oil sorption studies. The improved porous nature and pronounced decrease in average fiber diameter on adding the fillers make the PU membrane potentially viable for adsorption applications. The self-cleaning ability, oil sorption capacity, and UV resistance nature of the functionalized membranes are experimented. Excellent self-cleaning nature, durability and good adsorption of water in oil emulsion were observed. The PU/rGO/MoS2 fibrous membrane showed a high-water permeation flux (similar to 1800 L/m(2)/hr) and 20 times recyclability in a continuous separation process. Tuning the wettability by decreasing the polymer concentration and increasing the filler quantity resulted in an improved hydrophilic nature. Additionally, these membranes showed excellent methylene blue removal ability and metal ion adsorption which proved its ability to act as a multi-functional membrane.