Bacterial Superoleophobic Fibrous Matrices: A Naturally Occurring Liquid-Infused System for Oil-Water Separation

Nanocellulose fibers bioengineered by bacteria are a high-performance three-dimensional cross-linked network which can confine a dispersed liquid medium such as water. The strong chemical and physical interactions of dispersed water molecules with the entangled cellulosic network allow these materials to be ideal substrates for effective liquid separation. This type of phenomenon can be characterized as green with no equivalent precedent; its performance and sustainability relative to other cellulose-based or synthetic membranes are shown herein to be superior. In this work, we demonstrated that the renewable bacterial nanocellulosic membrane can be used as a stable liquid-infused system for the development of soft surfaces with superwettability and special adhesion properties and thus address intractable issues normally encountered by solid surfaces.