Super-hydrophobic Fe/TiO2 membrane prepared by dynamic etching of ferric salt (II) for efficient oil-water separation and photocatalytic removal of oil pollution

In recent years, photo-responsive self-cleaning oil/water (O/W) separation materials for oil-containing wastewater have been widely used in the field of oily wastewater. Herein, in this paper, a petal-like superhydrophobic Fe/TiO 2 membrane was prepared using stainless steel reacted with dynamically eroded titanium dioxide microspheres in an acidic environment for efficient separation of oil and water and photocatalytic degradation of dyes in oil. The results showed that the membrane had excellent light absorption properties in the visible spectrum. The average oil-water separation efficiency of the Fe/TiO 2 membrane was 96.4 %, and the average oil flux was 16,221.88 L m −2  h −1 . Sudan III dye was photocatalytically degraded in the petal-like micro-nanostructures of anatase-type titanium dioxide, and the Fe/TiO 2 membrane possessed good self-cleaning function. In addition, the specially structured Fe/TiO 2 membrane also showed better separation efficiency and oil permeability after light exposure compared to natural conditions. These works can provide references for oil pollution treatment and environmental protection, which are of great significance.