Molecular and nanostructure designed superhydrophilic material with unprecedented antioil-fouling property for diverse oil/water separation

The design and development of new advanced superwetting porous membranes with antioil-fouling performance are still rare and highly desirable because of their potential widespread applications. A metallic phosphate nanoflower-covered mesh membrane with superhydrophilic and unprecedented antioil-fouling properties is prepared by an exceptionally simple and effective in-situ solution corrosion method. As demonstrated, the outstanding antioil-fouling property of the resulting mesh membrane is connected with the special phosphate group and the three-dimensional (3D) nanoflower structure. Owing to the antioil-fouling property, upon to water, the oil-fouled mesh membrane can keep the surface free of various kinds of oils, including viscous crude oil to light n-hexane. Thanks to its unprecedented self-cleaning property, the superhydrophilic mesh membrane can effectively separate different oil/water mixtures without prior wetted by water, exhibiting great potential for practical spilled oil remediation.