Charged membranes based on spider silk-inspired nanofibers for comprehensive and continuous purification of wastewater

Creating a facile and efficient porous membrane for the comprehensive treatment of both insoluble and soluble pollutants from water is of great significance, yet remains challenging. Here, we present a facile strategy to prepare charged nanofibrous membranes assembled from spider silk-like humped SiO2/polyamide 66 (PA66)/polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers by combing Plateau−Rayleigh instability-induced assembly and in situ synthesis. The obtained nanofibrous membranes possess micro/nanostructured surfaces with promising superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic property, which are attributed to the synergy of hierarchical roughness and hydrophilic matrix. Combined with the superwettability and the integrated property of submicron pore size, high porosity, and good pore interconnectivity, the membranes can separate various oil-in-water emulsions with a remarkable permeation flux of 5403 l m−2 h−1 and a high separation efficiency (total organic carbon content <5 mg l−1). Moreover, attributed to the Laplace pressure difference and positive potential of the spindle-knotted nanofibers, the biomimetic nanofibrous membranes could remove the filter cake during separation. In addition, the membrane exhibits a remarkable adsorption-reduction capacity of hexavalent chromium. The synthesis of such attractive nanomaterials may provide new insights into the development of multifunctional separation materials for environmental applications.