Seeds embedded epitaxial growth strategy for PAN@LDH membrane with Mortise-Tenon structure as efficient adsorbent for particulate matter capture

Fabrication of highly efficient and low-resistance membranes for particulate matter (PM) capture has attracted wide attention. We reported herein a new "Seeds Embedded Epitaxial Growth" (SEEG) strategy for the preparation of novel PAN@LDH (PAN: polyacrylonitrile; LDH: layered double hydroxide) inorganic-organic composite membranes with unique "Mortise-Tenon" structures. Among the as-prepared PAN@LDH membranes, the PAN@60%LDH exhibited excellent removal efficiency for PM10 and PM2.5 of 99.29 +/- 0.56%, 99.03 +/- 0.82%, respectively, under extreme hazardous air condition with PM > 3000 mu g m-3. In particular, the PAN@60%LDH membrane showed outstanding removal efficiency for PM0.3-0.5 of 95.29 +/- 1.95% too. Moreover, such a membrane can be renewed easily and remain high PM removal efficiency. The diffusion effect, the inertance effect, the electrostatic interactions between PM and LDH contributed significantly to PM capture. As such, the PAN@LDH membranes can be a very promising and environmental-benign material for industrial applications in environmental purification.