title: Inspired by Stenocara Beetles: From Water Collection to High-Efficiency Water-in-Oil Emulsion Separation.
abstract: Inspired by the water-collecting mechanism of the Stenocara beetle's back structure, we prepared a superhydrophilic bumps-superhydrophobic/superoleophilic stainless steel mesh (SBS-SSM) filter via a facile and environmentally friendly method. Specifically, hydrophilic silica microparticles are assembled on the as-cleaned stainless steel mesh surface, followed by further spin-coating with a fluoropolymer/SiO2nanoparticle solution. On the special surface of SBS-SSM, attributed to the steep surface energy gradient, the superhydrophilic bumps (hydrophilic silica microparticles) are able to capture emulsified water droplets and collect water from the emulsion even when their size is smaller than the pore size of the stainless steel mesh. The oil portion of the water-in-oil emulsion therefore permeates through pores of the superhydrophobic/superoleophilic mesh coating freely and gets purified. We demonstrated an oil recovery purity up to 99.95 wt % for surfactant-stabilized water-in-oil emulsions on the biomimetic SBS-SSM filter, which is superior to that of the traditional superhydrophobic/superoleophilic stainless steel mesh (S-SSM) filter lacking the superhydrophilic bump structure. Together with a facile and environmentally friendly coating strategy, this tool shows great application potential for water-in-oil emulsion separation and oil purification.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xinjuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University , New York, New York 10003, United States.
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai 200240, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xianxia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Cailong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhaowen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shouping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shuangfeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Pihui
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pi
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiufang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D032701:Biomimetics; D001517:Coleoptera; D004655:Emulsions / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D009821:Oils / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010316:Particle Size; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D013193:Stainless Steel / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004655:Emulsions; D009821:Oils; D014867:Water; D013193:Stainless Steel; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
keywords: de-emulsification; stainless steel mesh; superwetting; surface energy gradient; water collection; water-in-oil emulsion separation