Superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic modified chitosan-coated mesh for oil/water separation

To develop an effective and simple approaches for the cleaning-up of the oily wastewater, a superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic mesh that can be applied to separate oil/water mixtures is prepared by spraying chitosan–silica nanoparticles–glutaraldehyde composite on the stainless steel mesh. The mesh can separate a series of different oil/water mixtures with > 99.0% separation efficiency in the harsh environment such as acidic, saline or alkaline conditions, making it promising for practical oil/water separation applications.