Scalable polyzwitterion–polydopamine coating for regenerable oil/water separation and underwater self-cleaning of stubborn heavy oil fouling without pre-hydration

A facile and scalable polyzwitterion-polydopamine coating strategy has been developed to functionalize substrates and sponges. This approach, for the first time, achieves superior regenerable underwater self-cleaning of stubborn asphaltenes-containing heavy oil fouling without pre-hydration and removal of water residues from heavy oil, with significant implications in many engineering and environmental processes.