Sustainable and antibacterial sandwich-like Ag-Pulp/CNF composite paper for oil/water separation

Abstract Bio-based membranes for emulsion separation are sustainable, low-cost, renewable, biodegradable, and nontoxic. Herein, an antibacterial sandwich-like composite paper was fabricated by a facile process using Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs)-coated pulp fibers and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs). The obtained Ag-Pulp/CNF composite paper was superhydrophilic, allowing a 96% separation efficiency for various oil-in-water emulsions. This outstanding separation efficiency was maintained over 20 separation cycles. The composite paper also showed satisfactory separation performance for water-in-oil emulsions after modification to render the surface hydrophobic. The CNFs provided the composite a nanoscale pore, which rejected nearly 100% of bacteria when used to filter bacteria-contaminated emulsions due to a physical barrier effect. Attributed to the intrinsic antibacterial capability of Ag NPs, the composite paper exhibited strong antibacterial performance against Escherichia coli. Thus, the composite paper that was mainly derived from sustainable pulp fibers exhibited potential performance for oil/water separation and water purification.