2D Ti3C2Tx modified with nano-AgPNPs antioxidant constructed hierarchical interface for high-throughput oily wastewater separation.

• Nano-AgPNPs significantly endow the Ti 3 C 2 T x surface with group species and hierarchical structure. • Nano-AgPNPs significantly improve the oxidation resistance of Ti 3 C 2 T x. • (AgPNPs) 0.5 T@PU exhibits high-throughput oil-water separation performance and corrosion resistance. • (AgPNPs) 0.5 T@PA shows impressive permeability and separation performance for toluene in water emulsion. Over-exploitation of fossil energy has led to the formation of enormous amounts of oily wastewater, which is increasingly polluting the environment of water bodies. The Ti 3 C 2 T x -modified separation material is limited by surface roughness and surface chemical composition, and the permeation flux decreases significantly during continuous testing. In this study, silver-loaded polydopamine nanospheres (nano-AgPNPs) as antioxidants were prepared by in-situ reduction from Ag⁺ ions and polydopamine nanospheres, and then they self-assembled with Ti 3 C 2 T x nanosheets to obtain hierarchical micro-nano structural nano-AgPNPs modified Ti 3 C 2 T x [(AgPNPs) x T (x = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1)]. Because of their strong reduction properties, nano-AgPNPs antioxidants can effectively protect the active edges of Ti 3 C 2 T x from dissolved oxygen, and greatly improve the oxidation resistance of Ti 3 C 2 T x nanosheets, with no significant changes in morphology and physical phase after long-term placement. (AgPNPs) x T formed underwater oleophobic interfaces with the hierarchical structure on polyurethane (PU) sponge to prepare (AgPNPs) x T@PU separation sponges. Among them, (AgPNPs) 0.5 T@PU sponge showed the highest comprehensive performance with separation efficiency higher than 99.6% for various oil-water mixtures, especially high-throughput and permeation flux up to 247,787 L m^–2 h^–1 for cyclohexane-water mixtures. In addition, nano-AgPNPs greatly broadened the layer spacing of Ti 3 C 2 T x and can form a functionalized interface of modified Ti 3 C 2 T x on polyamide (PA) membrane and provide additional permeation channels, which enabled the (AgPNPs) 0.5 T@PA membrane to have excellent toluene-water emulsion separation efficiency up to 99.6%. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]