Membrane distillation is an emerging wastewater treatment technology that harnesses low-grade heat as an energy source and exhibits potential for complete desalination. Nonetheless, two notable challenges hinder the practical application of this technology: membrane wetting and fouling. To counter these challenges, an innovative anti-fouling Janus membrane with asymmetric wettability was developed through electrospinning. The hydrophobic layer was formed using tetraethyl orthosilicate/polysulfone (PSF), and the superhydrophilic layer was created using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/PSF. A sensitive adhesion probe was used to assess the anti-fouling performance of the Janus membrane against oil. Molecular dynamics simulation suggested that PVP reduced the adsorption tendency of the membrane for humic acid (HA). Under experimental conditions involving saline water with HA and a saline oil–water emulsion, the non-Janus membrane suffered severe fouling, resulting in rapid water permeate flux decline. However, the Janus membrane demonstrated consistent permeate flux (26.84 LMH and 24.92 LMH) and an impressive salt rejection rate (> 99.99%). This study suggests that the Janus membrane, with its high permeate fluxes and remarkable resistance to fouling and wetting, could be an effective solution for wastewater treatment, with considerable potential for future application.

膜蒸馏是一种新兴的废水处理技术，它利用低品位热量作为能源，并具有完全脱盐的潜力。尽管如此，两个显着的挑战阻碍了该技术的实际应用：膜润湿和污染。为了应对这些挑战，通过静电纺丝开发了一种具有不对称润湿性的创新型防污 Janus 膜。使用原硅酸四乙酯/聚砜（PSF）形成疏水层，使用聚乙烯吡咯烷酮（PVP）/PSF形成超亲水层。使用灵敏的粘附探针来评估 Janus 膜的防油性能。分子动力学模拟表明，PVP 降低了膜对腐植酸（HA）的吸附倾向。在含有HA的盐水和盐水油水乳液的实验条件下，非Janus膜遭受严重污染，导致水渗透通量快速下降。然而，Janus 膜表现出一致的渗透通量（26.84 LMH 和 24.92 LMH）和令人印象深刻的脱盐率（> 99.99%）。这项研究表明，Janus 膜具有高渗透通量和出色的抗污染和润湿能力，可能成为废水处理的有效解决方案，在未来的应用中具有巨大的潜力。