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A facile method for emulsified oil-water separation by using polyethylenimine-coated magnetic nanoparticles

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Abstract

Oil spills and oily wastewater discharges from ships and industrial activities have serious impacts on the environment and human health. In this study, a class of easy-to-synthesize polyethylenimine (PEI)-coated Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) was successfully synthesized via a one-step coprecipitation method. The synthesized PEI-coated Fe3O4 MNPs were characterized by using multiple technologies and applied in emulsified oil-water separation for the first time. It was found that the PEI effectively tuned the surface charge and wettability of MNPs. As a result, the PEI-coated MNPs could successfully assemble at the oil-water interface and promote the coalescence of oil droplets, thereby facilitating the subsequent magnetic separation. Results showed that the oil-water separation performance was superior and enhanced with the increase of ionic strength. Recycling experiment indicated that the PEI-coated MNPs could be reused up to six times without showing a significant decrease in separation efficiency. All of these results suggested that the PEI-coated MNP could potentially be used as a class of promising nanomaterials for emulsified oil-water separation.

Schematic illustration of the emulsified oil-water separation process by using PEI-coated Fe3O4 MNPs.

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Funding

The authors wish to thank the support from the Zhejiang Provincial Public Technology Application Research Project (no. 2017C33101) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 21506045 and no. 21407037).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Materials and Applications, College of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018, China

    Ting Lü, Dong Zhang, Yulan Lü & Hongting Zhao

  2. Engineering Research Center of Eco-Dyeing and Finishing of Textiles of Ministry of Education, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, China

    Dongming Qi

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  1. Ting Lü
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  2. Dongming Qi
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  3. Dong Zhang
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  4. Yulan Lü
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  5. Hongting Zhao
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Correspondence to Hongting Zhao.

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Lü, T., Qi, D., Zhang, D. et al. A facile method for emulsified oil-water separation by using polyethylenimine-coated magnetic nanoparticles. J Nanopart Res 20, 88 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-018-4193-7

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