Abstract

Oil leakage and the discharge of industrial oil/water mixtures have posed a serious threat to the water environment and ecosystem. With the purpose of tackling this issue, a Ni3S2 coated mesh with switchable wettability was fabricated for efficient oil-water separation. Surface morphology and chemical compositions of the coated mesh were characterized to analyze the formation mechanism and their influence on surface wettability. The reversible transition between superhydrophobicity and underwater superoleophobicity allows the coated mesh to selectively separate heavy or light oil under gravity, respectively. A T-shaped tube with a superhydrophobic mesh and an underwater superoleophobic mesh was proposed to overcome the limitation of oil density and the conventionally necessary intrusion pressure to achieve continuous and efficient separation. This system functioned well in separating complex mixtures including oil-hot water mixtures and oil-in-water emulsions. Therefore, this Ni3S2 nanorods grown on stainless steel mesh present a promising solution towards oily water treatment.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.