Hydrophobic silicone modified membranes for efficient oil/water separation: Synthesis, fabrication and application

Oil leakage and discharge of organic wastewater have not only threatened the ecosystem, but also greatly aggravated water scarcity. Efficient separation of oil–water mixture has become a global challenge. To solve this issue, various hydrophobic membranes with special wettability have been developed in past decades. Among them, the hydrophobic silicone-modified membranes have attracted much attention due to their low cost, easy processing and large-scale production. Herein, recent progresses of hydrophobic silicone-modified membranes for oil–water separation are reviewed. Basic mechanisms and principles for efficient oil–water separation are presented as a starting point for the discussion. Then, according to the modified silicone polymers or molecules, we give a detail description of their synthesis and briefly introduce the main reactions with the substrate, the typical grafting strategy and fabricating methods. Subsequently, the performance and oil–water application of various hydrophobic membranes modified silicone are introduced. Finally, some problems and challenges faced by silicone modification are summarized and present, and their future development is also prospected.