title: Recent Development of Advanced Materials with Special Wettability for Selective Oil/Water Separation.
abstract: The increasing number of oil spill accidents have a catastrophic impact on our aquatic environment. Recently, special wettable materials used for the oil/water separation have received significant research attention. Due to their opposing affinities towards water and oil, i.e., hydrophobic and oleophilic, or hydrophilic and oleophobic, such materials can be used to remove only one phase from the oil/water mixture, and simultaneously repel the other phase, thus achieving selective oil/water separation. Moreover, the synergistic effect between the surface chemistry and surface architecture can further promote the superwetting behavior, resulting in the improved separation efficiency. Here, recently developed materials with special wettability for selective oil/water separation are summarized and discussed. These materials can be categorized based on their oil/water separating mechanisms, i.e., filtration and absorption. In each section, representative studies will be highlighted, with emphasis on the materials wetting properties and innovative aspects. Finally, challenges and future research directions in this emerging and promising research field will be briefly described.
authors.affiliation: Center for Programmable Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.|Singapore Membrane Technology Centre. Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Singapore, 637141, Singapore.|Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Interdisciplinary Graduate School, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
authors.forename: Qinglang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Center for Programmable Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
authors.forename: Hongfei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Singapore Membrane Technology Centre. Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Singapore, 637141, Singapore.
authors.forename: Anthony G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Fane
authors.affiliation: Singapore Membrane Technology Centre. Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Singapore, 637141, Singapore.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Center for Programmable Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: absorption; filtration; oil/water separation; water purification; wettable materials