Mussel-inspired superhydrophilic and antibacterial membranes for effective gravity-driven separation of oil-in-water emulsions.

[Display omitted] • Rapid co-deposition of dopamine and APTS was used to construct superhydrophilic membranes. • Superhydrophilic membrane had an effective oil repellency with underwater oil contact angle of ∼163.5°. • Superhydrophilic membrane has a fast gravity-driven filtration for oil-in-water emulsions with a separation efficiency of >99.9 % • Incorporation of Cu NPs and polydopamine enables the membranes with complete antibacterial activity. Substantial discharge of industrial oily wastewater calls for an efficient and sustainable treatment for resource recovery. Superwetting membranes offer a feasible approach to fractionate oil species and water from oily wastewater for addressing this technical challenge. In this study, we proposed a useful strategy for constructing a superhydrophilic membrane with superior antibacterial properties through rapid co-deposition of dopamine and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) initiated by ammonium persulfate on the Cu nanoparticles-loaded porous PVDF substrate. The resultant superhydrophilic membrane yielded an underwater oil contact angle of 163.5°, enabling a fast and robust gravity-driven filtration for various oil-in-water emulsions with a separation efficiency of >99.9 %. Additionally, incorporating of Cu nanoparticles and polydopamine endowed the superhydrophilic membrane with superior antibacterial activity (100 % inhibition efficiency against Escherichia coli), and thereby remarkably enhancing the anti-biofouling performance. This study provides a viable approach to design high-performance membranes for separation of oil-in-water emulsions, with promising applications in the industrial and environmental sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]