Tailored Electrospun PU/S-GO Membranes for Enhanced Mechanical and Hydrophobic Properties for Efficient Oil Removal 


Vol. 26,  No. 6, pp. 2353-2364, Jun.  2025
10.1007/s12221-025-00974-5


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  Abstract

Electrospun membrane separation technology is rapidly advancing in the treatment of oily wastewater, owing to its tunable properties and controlled fibrous structure. In this work, an electrospun polyurethane (PU) membrane is prepared by incorporating graphene oxide (GO) modified with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS), resulting in a novel membrane, PU/S-GO. This modification significantly enhances the membrane’s mechanical properties, increasing its strength from 3.19 MPa to 13.5 MPa, which can be attributed to the improved interfacial bonding of APTMS-functionalized GO. Additionally, the modification of GO increases the water contact angle of PU from 90° to 130°, enhancing its oleophilic characteristics. This paved the applicability of PU/S-GO to be used in the sorption studies and oil–water separation. The fabricated membrane showed a high oil uptake capacity of 10 g/g. A detailed kinetic study reveals that the oil sorption mechanism follows a pseudo-second-order model, suggesting that chemisorption controls the process. Furthermore, the PU/S-GO membrane exhibits excellent self-cleaning properties, durability, and recyclability. In continuous separation tests, it achieves 80% efficiency in removing oil–water emulsions with flux of ≈ 3000 L/m2 h and significant reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD), highlighting its promising potential for sustainable oil–water separation applications.

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  Cite this article

[IEEE Style]

R. M. John, P. Pavithran, S. C. George, N. M. Raju, "Tailored Electrospun PU/S-GO Membranes for Enhanced Mechanical and Hydrophobic Properties for Efficient Oil Removal," Fibers and Polymers, vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 2353-2364, 2025. DOI: 10.1007/s12221-025-00974-5.

[ACM Style]

Riya Mariyam John, Parvathy Pavithran, Soney C. George, and Nikhi Maria Raju. 2025. Tailored Electrospun PU/S-GO Membranes for Enhanced Mechanical and Hydrophobic Properties for Efficient Oil Removal. Fibers and Polymers, 26, 6, (2025), 2353-2364. DOI: 10.1007/s12221-025-00974-5.