Bioinspired antifouling mesh with liquid-adaptive wettability for on-demand separation of oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions

Separation materials integrating robust fouling resistance and switchable wettability have been considered as promising candidates for oily sewage treatment, but there is still great challenge. Inspired by goose feathers, a unique antifouling mesh with liquid-adaptive wettability was prepared by in situ electrochemical growth of feather-like copper arrays on stainless steel mesh. The hierarchical feather-like copper arrays not only reduced the mesh pore sizes to improve its separation efficiency (98.9%), but also captured oil or water by simple pre-infusion to form a robust liquid cushion to tune the mesh wettability. The formed robust liquid cushion also endowed the mesh with outstanding antifouling abilities. Thus, the mesh exhibited excellent on-demand separation performance for various oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions. Besides, the mesh exhibited durable liquid-adaptive wettability in harsh environment, promising application in separating dual emulsions.