Metal mesh-based special wettability materials for oil-water separation: A review of the recent development

Abstract Special wettability material is an important material for oily wastewater treatment. Among various wettability materials, the metal mesh material showed great advantages, such as high mechanical strength, high separation efficiency, and self-cleaning properties based on recent studies. This review article firstly describes the basic mechanism of surface wettability, including the contact angle in the air (e.g. Young's mode, Wenzel's mode, and Cassie-Baxter's mode), the contact angle hysteresis, and the rolling angle. The special wettability including superhydrophobic-oleophilic, hydrophilic-oleophobic, hydrophilic-underwater oleophobic, and switchable wettability and characteristic of the fabrication method and are discussed in this paper. The properties of the various metals that can be used for oil-water separation are summarized. Moreover, the challenges faced by metal mesh materials in oil-water separation are analyzed, and future development and application have prospected.