UiO-66-Coated Mesh Membrane with Underwater Superoleophobicity for High-Efficiency Oil–Water Separation

Abstract

A UiO-66-coated mesh membrane with micro- and nanostructures was designed and successfully fabricated on steel mesh through a simple solution immersion process, exhibiting hydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic properties. It displays an outstanding oil–water separation efficiency over 99.99% with a high water permeation flux of 12.7 × 104 L m–2 h–1, so high purity water (with the residual oil content less than 4 ppm) can be readily obtained from such a simple mesh membrane from various oil–water mixtures. Its large-scale membrane production will facilitate its practical usage for the industrial and environmental water purification.