Hydrophobic tungsten oxide-based mesh modified with hexadecanoic branches for efficient oil/water separation

The development of facile and highly efficient materials for oil/water separation has recently attracted significant attention. Herein, a novel approach for the development of tungsten oxide-based meshes modified with palmitic acid (hexadecanoic) is reported. The stainless steel meshes were first coated with tungsten oxide thin film using a direct current (DC) sputtering system followed by post-annealing treatments at different temperatures specifically at room temperature, 200, 400, 600, and 800 °C. After that, the as-fabricated films were chemically functionalized with palmitic acid. The fabricated samples were then characterized using SEM-EDX, XRD, and contact angle measurement. Their separation efficiency towards oil/water separation was evaluated. Excellent reproducibility was obtained by the functionalized tungsten-oxide film treated at 600 °C. The same sample showed excellent flux (up to 30,000 L·m−2·h−1) with excellent separation efficacy of around 98.0 ± 1.5 %. The modified mesh showed excellent separation efficiency even with saline mixtures. The reported facile approach can pave the way for more practical utilization of coating nanomaterials for oil/water separation.