Preparation of silica/polyethyleneimine inorganic–organic hybrid oil/water separation membranes via sol–gel method

Silica/polyethyleneimine (PEI) inorganic-organic hybrid oil/water separation membranes were prepared by sol-gel method using tetramethoxysilane (TMOS), 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMOS) and PEI, and crosslinking reaction between glycidoxy functional group of 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMOS) and amino functional group of PEI.The effects of TMOS content on the water flux and oil/water separation efficiency of the membranes were also investigated.Oil/water separation efficiency of PEI60TM10 (60 wt% PEI to GPTMOS, 1.0 molar ratio TMOS to GPTMOS) was high (96%) and water flux was also high (680 Lm -2 h -1 ).The hybrid oil/water separation membranes exhibit higher oil/water separation efficiency and higher water flux.