Preparation of superhydrophobic/superoleophilic copper coated titanium mesh with excellent ice-phobic and water-oil separation performance

The development of advanced materials with superwettability has captured much research interest, because of the increasing environmental concerns and technological requirements. In this work, a titanium mesh coated with copper micro/nanostructures was fabricated via chemical immersion and annealing treatment. The resulting mesh surface consists of titanium and copper oxides with special dendritic and island-like micro-nano binary structures and exhibited remarkable superhydrophobic/superoleophilic property. The superhydrophobic/superoleophilic Ti mesh (SSTM) proved to be efficient for the separation of various water-oil mixtures and exhibited an excellent reusability in repeating separation cycles of water-carbon tetrachloride. Moreover, the SSTM sample displayed great icephobic property including ice-over delay and low ice adhesion. The self-cleaning properties of the SSTM sample were demonstrated using simulated chalk powder that can be easily washed off by injecting water droplets. It also exhibited superior stability in air atmosphere or water over months and great durability under a continuous tap-water flow impacting or abrasion test.