Robust superhydrophobic mesh coated by PANI/TiO2 nanoclusters for oil/water separation with high flux, self-cleaning, photodegradation and anti-corrosion

Abstract

Oil spill events are major factor of marine ecological system pollution, which cause serious harms to the environment and humanity. Fabrication of an efficient material for oil/water separation is a feasible solution to these thorny problems. In this work, stainless steel meshes were modified with polyaniline (PANI) and TiO2 nanoclusters through a facile dip-coating method to endow mesh surface with superhydrophobic property with static water contact angle above 150°. Oil/water separation performance was comprehensively evaluated, and the results demonstrated that PANI/TiO2 modified meshes could efficiently and effectively separate a series of oil/water mixtures including hexane, decane, toluene and diesel oil with high fluxes ranging from 46 k L·m−2·h−1 to 176 k L·m−2·h−1, and the oil purity in permeate remaining above 99.8% even after 100 cycles separation. Moreover, the as-prepared PANI/TiO2 modified meshes were capable to degrade oil or organic contaminants on the mesh surfaces under visible light. Furthermore, PANI/TiO2 modified meshes designed in this work exhibited dramatic performance in self-cleaning, abrasive resistance and anti-corrosion, and therefore showing great potential and prospect in industrial practical application.