Intelligent Coatings with Controlled Wettability for Oil–Water Separation

Intelligent surfaces with controlled wettability have caught much attention in industrial oily wastewater treatment. In this study, a hygro-responsive superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic coating was fabricated by the liquid-phase deposition of SiO(2) grafted with perfluorooctanoic acid. The wettability of the surface could realize the transformation from superhydrophilicity/underwater superoleophobicity (SHI/USOB) to superhydrophobicity/superoleophilicity (SHB/SOI), both of which exhibited excellent separation performance towards different types of oil–water mixtures with the separation efficiency higher than 99%. Furthermore, the long-chain perfluoroakyl substances on the surface could be decomposed by mixing SiO(2) with TiO(2) nanoparticles under UV irradiation, which could reduce the pollution to human beings and environment. It is anticipated that the prepared coating with controlled wettability could provide a feasible solution for oil–water separation.