Preparation of superhydrophobic and superoleophilic nanostructured layer on steel mesh for oil-water separation.

Recently, fabrication of hydrophobic materials with application in oil spill cleanup becomes a new research focus. Herein, we report the preparation of superhydrophobic and superoleophilic steel mesh covered with nanostructured organic film for oil and organic solvents collection from water surface. The superhydrophobic mesh was fabricated by a simple deposition of carbon soot (CS) nanospheres on the steel mesh using candle combustion flam, followed by vapour phase deposition of polypyrrole (ppy). Finally the surface was modified with stearic acid (SA). The topological structure and surface wettability of the prepared mesh were characterized by SEM, FT-IR, Raman spectra and contact angle measurements. The prepared hydrophobic mesh was shaped as a miniature boat which can float on water surface and absorbs various oils from water surface very fast. Additionally, the miniature boat could be reused for many times in the oil-water separating process without decreases of its separation ability. The results illustrate that the prepared hydrophobic mesh is, low cost and can be used for facile and rapid collection of oil and other organic solvent from water surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]