High-Flux and Robust Co₃O₄ Mesh for Efficient Oil/Water Separation in Harsh Environment

Material with special wettability for oil/water separation has drawn more and more attention, since the oil spill accidents and industrial processing are growing in frequency and in volume. A superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic mesh was prepared by introducing Co₃O₄ on a stainless steel mesh, through a simple hydrothermal process and subsequent calcination. The as-prepared Co₃O₄ mesh can not only separate various oil/water mixtures with high efficiency and high flux, but also work effectively in harsh environment such as highly acidic, alkaline, and salty solutions. Moreover, the Co₃O₄ mesh can still retain good separation performance after 40 abrasion cycles with sandpaper. The outstanding anticorrosion and antiabrasion behaviors make the Co₃O₄ mesh promising for oil/water separation even in harsh environment.