ZnO nanorod array-coated mesh film for the separation of water and oil

Dense and vertically aligned ZnO nanorod arrays with a large area have been fabricated successfully on the stainless steel mesh by a simple chemical vapor deposition method. The coated mesh exhibited both superoleophilic and superhydrophobic properties, even if it was not modified by low surface energy materials. The separation efficiencies were more than 97% in the filtration of water and oil. Besides, the wettability of the coated mesh was still stable after it was soaked in the corrosive solutions for 1 h. A detailed investigation showed that the coated mesh has the best superhydrophobic property when the stainless steel mesh pore size was about 75 μm.