Superhydrophobic Metal–Organic Framework Membrane with Self-Repairing for High-Efficiency Oil/Water Emulsion Separation

Special wetting characteristic surfaces typically combine low-surface-energy micro/nanoscale structures, and special wetting coating material applications are wide-ranging, including self-cleaning and drag-reducing surfaces to anti-adhesives. However, the poor durability of these special wetting surfaces greatly limits their practical application, and external conditions such as illumination, friction, and corrosion can damage and destroy the low-surface-energy surface of the superhydrophobic coatings. These low-surface-energy materials must then be redeposited to restore the superhydrophobic coatings, which is cost and time prohibitive. Endowing superhydrophobic coatings with a self-repairing performance could effectively solve these durability problems. Here we report a robust, superhydrophobic metal organic framework layer membrane with a repair ability. This composite membrane was prepared by a simple wet-chemistry coating technique consisting of fluorinated alkyl silane, a fluorocarbon surfactant, and a hydrophobic ZIF-90 membrane. This study represents a durable superhydrophobic membrane for sewage treatment application.