Enhanced oil/water separation via electrospun poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐vinyl acetate)/single‐wall carbon nanotubes fibrous nanocomposite membrane

In this study, poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐vinyl acetate) (P(AN‐co‐VA)) reinforced by 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0% w/w functionalized single‐wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), fibrous nanocomposites were fabricated using electrospinning technique. Functional analysis revealed the presence of hydroxyl band which is characteristic of the carboxylated SWCNTs. Morphological analysis manifested neatly uniform nanofibers with an average fiber diameter varying from 62 to 308 nm depending on the processing conditions of electrospinning. Contact angle measurements showed a decline in the contact angle by increasing carboxylated SWCNTs contents. Oil/water separation was assessed using dead‐end module under different testing conditions and showed an excellent performance. The maximum rejection ratio for the oil/water separation test for the electrospun fibrous nanocomposite was about 97.5% for 0.5 wt% carboxylated SWCNTs. These results conveyed the promising performance of electrospun P(AN‐co‐VA)/SWCNTs nanocomposite membranes for oil/water separation technology.