Fabrication of CuO mesh for efficient oil/water separation

Abstract

In this work, we have fabricated superhydrophobic copper oxide mesh by simply annealing copper mesh followed by surface modification with octadecanoic acid. The XRD analysis of the sample revealed the presence of cubic Cu2O and monoclinic CuO phases of copper oxide. The FESEM analysis of the samples demonstrated the presence of wire-like structures of copper oxide. The successful deposition of octadecanoic acid was confirmed by FT-IR analysis. The wettability study has confirmed that the sample modified with octadecanoic acid showed excellent superhydrophobic behavior with a water contact angle of 156° and superoleophilic behavior with oil contact angles of 0°. Owing to the excellent superhydrophobic-superoleophilic behavior, the modified copper oxide mesh allows oil to penetrate while restricting the passage of water through its surface, which results in the separation of the oil/water mixture. The modified mesh showed ∼98% separation efficiency and high flux for different oil/water mixtures. Moreover, this mesh exhibited excellent recyclability by maintaining its high efficiency even after 10 separation cycles. Owing to its high separation efficiency (∼98%), recyclability and high flux, the modified copper oxide mesh meets the current need for the separation of oil/water mixtures in real-world applications.