Superwetting meshes with grass-like structures in the pores for highly efficient separation of oil-in-water emulsion

Superwetting membranes offer an important route for oil/water separation, yet there still exist some challenges such as simple preparation process, cyclic utilization. Here, superwetting stainless steel meshes (SSMs) covered by micro/nano structured Cu and Cu(OH)(2) were successfully prepared via a simple electrodeposition followed by a fast oxidation process. The obtained meshes exhibited superhydrophilic in air and superoleophobic under water property, which can effectively separate surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water emulsion only under gravity or a low applied pressure (0.1 bar) and can circularly separate emulsion. In addition, the pore size and structure can be controlled through changing the electrodeposition time and the effects of the electrodeposition time on the permeation flux were studied in this paper. The prepared meshes may possess potential application for the practical oil/water separation.