Facile\nApproach to Fabricate a High-Performance Superhydrophobic\nMesh

Abstract

When\nsuperhydrophobic meshes are used for oil/water separation,\nhigh flux and high intrusion pressure are usually compromised. Herein,\na high-performance superhydrophobic stainless steel mesh membrane\nwith a hairy-like poly­(divinylbenzene) (PDVB) coating is fabricated\nby precipitated cationic polymerization. The synthesis is facile,\nwhich is completed in one step at ambient temperature within a short\ntime, i.e., less than 90 s. The unique hair-like microstructure of\nPDVB is responsible for the superhydrophobic performance with less\nblockage for the pores. A higher flux for oil is achieved while keeping\na high intrusion pressure. Especially, the ellipsoidal pore texture\nwith two sharp tips can give additional high intrusion pressure. In\nthe case of 2800 mesh, the superhydrophobic mesh displays an unprecedentedly\nhigh value of up to 22 kPa while maintaining a high flux of 2.0 ×\n10⁴ L·m^–2·h^–1. The high intrusion pressure enables further increment of flux to\n4.2 × 10⁴ L·m^–2·h^–1 under a reduced pressure at a higher loading. The\ncurrent high-performance superhydrophobic mesh realizes higher efficiency\nin separating oil/water mixtures, which is promising for practical\napplications, for example, in industrial extraction.