HKUST-1 MOFs decorated 3D copper foam with superhydrophobicity/superoleophilicity for durable oil/water separation

Abstract Oil/water separation is an urgent topic because the frequently occurred oil leakages and increasing discharge of oily wastewater. The 3D metal foams with special wettabilities are promising oil/water separation materials owing to their outstanding properties. Herein, we fabricated a HKUST-1 MOFs decorated copper foam using a facile template-sacrificial method for oil/water separation. The as-prepared copper foam possessed good superhydrophobicity under broad pH and saline conditions. Its oil adsorption capability was larger than 150% for all the chosen oils and the oil/water separation efficiency of the foam for various oil/water mixture was larger than 96%. Furthermore, although the wettability decreased to hydrophobic state after 30 cycles of mechanical abrasion, the separation efficiency of the foam kept above 97%, showing good repeatability. Results demonstrated that the distinctive 3D structure of copper foam contributed the excellent durability to mechanical abrasion.