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Preparation of UV-crosslinked fluorinated PAN membranes and oil-water separation
Authors： HOU Yunping， GAO Shuai， LIU Qiaohong， An Quanfu
Units： College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, 
Beijing 100124，China
KeyWords： oil-water separation; antifouling; photocrosslinking; surface modification
ClassificationCode：TQ028 
year,volume(issue):pagination： 2026, 46(4):32-44

Abstract：

In the process of oil-in-water emulsion separation, the adsorption of oil droplets on the membrane surface  and the formation of the filter cake layer  lead to membrane pore blocking and rapid flux decline, which severely restrict long-term stable operation. Introducing low-surface-energy fluorinated materials can effectively weaken oil-membrane interfacial interactions and mitigate fouling. However, poor interfacial compatibility between hydrophobic fluorinated layers and hydrophilic substrates often leads to insufficient layer stability, and the influence of modification degree on separation performance remains unclear. In this study, a covalently grafted fluorinated layer was constructed on a hydrophilic polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membrane via UV-induced crosslinking, significantly enhancing the structural stability of the fluorinated layer. The effect of fluorinated monomer concentration on emulsion separation performance was systematically investigated. The results demonstrated that, by optimizing the fluorinated monomer concentration, the modified membrane significantly reduced the adhesion tendency of oil droplets on the membrane surface while maintaining flux, improving its antifouling performance. The optimized membrane exhibited an almost complete flux recovery ratio (~100%), high oil rejection rate (>99%), and a low flux decay rate (<15%). In addition, the membrane maintained stable separation performance  under short-term exposure to strong acid, strong alkali, and saline environments, indicating excellent chemical stability. These findings suggest that UV-crosslinking fluorinated layers with controlled modification level provide an effective strategy for designing antifouling membranes for oil-in-water emulsion separation, possessing promising application potential in the treatment of complex oily wastewater. 

Funds：

国家自然科学基金项目（22308013）

AuthorIntro：
候云平（2001-），女，河南三门峡人，硕士研究生，主要研究方向为膜分离。*通讯作者，E-mail：liuqiaohong@bjut.edu.cn  

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