3D printed chemically and mechanically robust membrane by selective laser sintering for separation of oil/water and immiscible organic mixtures

3D printing has attracted attention to develop novel membranes due to its advantages in processing raw materials with solvent resistance and producing porous parts with complex geometry. Herein, a robust candle soot functionalized polyamide-12 membrane was designed by selective laser sintering for the separation of multiphase liquid mixtures (e.g., oil/water mixtures and immiscible organic liquid mixtures). The 3D printed membrane exhibited an excellent chemical and mechanical stability during sonication for 30 min, solvent treatment for 7 days, and abrasion with sandpaper for 10 cycles, in combination with desired hydrophobic, superoleophilic, and underwater superoleophobic properties. More importantly, we demonstrated the outstanding performances in separating oil/water mixtures and immiscible organic liquid mixtures with a competitive separation efficiency over 99%. This work significantly expands the possibility of using selective laser sintering in fabricating functional membranes.