Fabrication of electrosprayed TiO₂/SiO₂-coated PVDF/TiO₂/GO nanofibrous membrane for oil–water separation

Frequent marine oil spills and oily wastewater discharged from industrial and agricultural production and daily life have created a dual ecological threat – not only damaging marine and aquatic ecosystems but also posing risks to human health through bioaccumulation in the food chain. Traditional oil–water separation technologies, due to inherent drawbacks such as the potential for secondary pollution and low treatment efficiency, struggle to meet the demands of pollution control. In this context, membrane separation technology has emerged as a leading solution, leveraging its core advantages of high-efficiency separation, low energy consumption, and ease of operation. Among these, polyvinylidene fluoride membrane materials, which combine excellent film-forming properties, thermal and chemical stability, biocompatibility, and cost-effectiveness, have become the mainstream solution in this field. Existing polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) fiber membranes suffer from drawbacks such as severe membrane fouling due to hydrophobicity, relatively low permeation flux, insufficient mechanical strength, and poor durability of anti-fouling modifications. This study proposes a novel method for preparing composite membranes. Electrospray coating titanium dioxide (TiO₂)/silicon dioxide (SiO₂) onto PVDF/titanium dioxide/GO fiber membranes significantly enhances hydrophilicity, fundamentally inhibits scaling, enhances mechanical strength and structural stability, improves permeation flux, and achieves durable anti-fouling performance.