Superwetting Stainless Steel Mesh Used for Both Immiscible Oil/Water and Surfactant-Stabilized Emulsion Separation

The design and fabrication of advanced membrane materials for versatile oil/water separation are major challenges. In this work, a superwetting stainless steel mesh (SSM) modified with in situ-grown TiO<sub>2</sub> was successfully prepared via one-pot hydrothermal synthesis at 180 °C fo...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yu-Ping Zhang, Ya-Ning Wang, Li Wan, Xin-Xin Chen, Chang-Hua Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-09-01
Series:Membranes
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/13/10/808
Description
Summary:The design and fabrication of advanced membrane materials for versatile oil/water separation are major challenges. In this work, a superwetting stainless steel mesh (SSM) modified with in situ-grown TiO<sub>2</sub> was successfully prepared via one-pot hydrothermal synthesis at 180 °C for 24 h. The modified SSM was characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy, energy spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The resultant SSM membrane was superhydrophilic/superoleophilic in air, superoleophobic underwater, with an oil contact angle (OCA) underwater of over 150°, and superhydrophobic under oil, with a water contact angle (WCA) as high as 158°. Facile separation of immiscible light oil/water and heavy oil/water was carried out using the prewetting method with water and oil, respectively. For both “oil-blocking” and “water-blocking” membranes, the separation efficiency was greater than 98%. Also, these SSMs wrapped in TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles broke emulsions well, separating oil-in-water and oil-in-water emulsions with an efficiency greater than 99.0%. The as-prepared superwetting materials provided a satisfactory solution for the complicated or versatile oil/water separation.
ISSN:2077-0375