Abstract
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There is a critical need to develop durable and reusable materials for
oil–water separation, especially in harsh environments. Traditional antifouling
mesh-based separation technologies are not reusable and
limited by poor temperature resistance. Here we report a novel
superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic NiO/Ni mesh which
shows superior oil/water separation in harsh environments, with reusable
and durable properties that can separate different oil–water
mixtures with and without sand and soil contaminants, a >99% separation
efficiency and up to 5.4 104 L m2 h1 permeate flux. The
material is able to retain its superior performance over the 20 cycles we
measured and for mixtures of sticky oils its performance is easily
recoverable after a quick heat treatment. Our separation methodology
is solely gravity-driven and consequently is expected to be highly
energy-efficient. We anticipate that our separation methodology will
have numerous applications, including in the clean-up of oil spills,
wastewater treatment and other harsh condition oil–water separations.