Gate-Embedding Strategy for Pore Size Manipulation on Stainless Steel Mesh: Toward Highly Efficient Water-in-Oil Nanoemulsions Separation

Separation of water-in-oil nanoemulsions is of great significance but difficult. In this work, using a facile brush-painting method, a paste containing PDMS, graphite, TiO2 and ethyl cellulose was coated on a low-mesh-number stainless steel mesh, forming hierarchical micro/nanostructures and endowing the mesh with excellent superhydrophobicity. Meanwhile, the coating regulated the original pores of the stainless steel mesh, toward a gate-embedding effect, giving rise to the formation of suitable micropores for separating water-in-oil nanoemulsions. The separation efficiencies for various nanoemulsions were larger than 99.9% with the residual droplets smaller than 8 nm, showing outstanding separation ability. Furthermore, the wettability of the as-prepared mesh possessed good resistance to acidic, alkaline, salty, organic solvents, and UV light-exposed environments. Even if the mesh was abraded by sandpaper, its separation capability was almost totally maintained. The findings in the present work provide a...