High-Performance\nMembranes Based on Spherical-Beaded\nNanofibers and Nanoarchitectured Networks for Water-in-Oil Emulsion\nSeparation

High-performance separation materials for oil–water\nemulsions\nare crucial to environmental protection and resource recovery; however,\nmost existing fibrous separation materials are subject to large pore\nsize and low porosity, resulting in limited separation performance.\nHerein, we create high-performance membranes consisting of spherical-beaded\nnanofibers and nanoarchitectured networks (nano-nets) using electrostatic\nspinning/netting technology, for water-in-oil emulsion separation.\nBy manipulating the nonequilibrium stretching of jets, spherical-beaded\nnanofibers capable of generating a robust microelectric field are\nfabricated as scaffolds, on which charged droplets are induced to\neject and phase separate to self-assemble nano-nets with small pores.\nBenefiting from 3D undulating networks with cavities originating from\n2D nano-nets supported by 1D spherical-beaded nanofibers, the membranes\nexhibit under-oil superhydrophobicity (>152°), a striking\nseparation\nperformance with an efficiency of >99.2% and a flux of 5775 L m<sup>–2</sup> h<sup>–1</sup>, together with wide pressure\napplicability, antifouling, and reusability. This work may open up\nnew horizons in developing fibrous materials for separation and purification.