Superhydrophilic and Underwater Superoleophobic Copper Mesh Coated with Bamboo Cellulose Hydrogel for Efficient Oil/Water Separation

Abstract

Super-wetting interface materials have shown great potential for applications in oil–water separation. Hydrogel-based materials, in particular, have been extensively studied for separating water from oily wastewater due to their unique hydrophilicity and excellent anti-oil effect. In this study, a superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic bamboo cellulose hydrogel-coated mesh was fabricated using a feasible and eco-friendly dip-coating method. The process involved dissolving bamboo cellulose in a green alkaline/urea aqueous solvent system, followed by regeneration in ethanol solvent, without the addition of surface modifiers. The resulting membrane exhibited excellent special wettability, with superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity, enabling oil–water separation through a gravity-driven “water-removing” mode. The super-wetting composite membrane demonstrated a high separation efficiency of higher than 98% and a permeate flux of up to 9168 L·m−2·h−1 for numerous oil/water mixtures. It also maintained a separation efficiency of >95% even after 10 cycles of separation, indicating its long-term stability. This study presents a green, simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly approach for fabricating superhydrophilic surfaces to achieve oil–water separation. It also highlights the potential of bamboo-based materials in the field of oil–water separation.