Controllable wettability of laser treated aluminum mesh for on-demand oil/water separation

Abstract

Oil/water separation has attracted more attention with the dramatic increasing of oil spill accidents and arbitrarily discharged oily industrial water. However, many reported materials with controllable wettability for on-demand oil/water separation of both heavy and light oil/water mixtures involve complicated devices and dangerous fabrication processes. Herein, we propose a simple, environmentally friendly and high-efficient method to fabricate Al mesh with controllable wettability. Heavy oil can be separated with a high efficiency of 99% in oil-removing mode. For light oil, the separation efficiency can also reach up to 99% in water-removing mode. Additionally, surface wettability of the mesh can be conversed from superhydrophobicity to superhydrophilicity by atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) and heating, thereby realizing continuous bidirectional separation. Therefore, this work provides a facile, green, and efficient way for on-demand oil/water separation and finds a promising solution for oil pollution problems.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Atmospheric pressure plasma jet
• laser treated Al mesh
• controllable wettability
• on-demand oil/water separation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China; National Basic Research Program of China; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.