One step electrochemical fabricating of the biomimetic graphene skins with superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity for highly efficient oil-water separation

Abstract Materials with superhydrophobic and superoleophilic properties have great application prospects in oil and water separation area, however the ordinarily used methods for the manufacturing of these materials are complicated. In this paper, a facile and efficient procedure of an electrochemical-assisted method for the fabricating of biomimetic graphene skins with superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity on the surface of the stainless steel mesh used for oil-water separation was presented. The morphology and structure of the skins were studied by SEM, TEM, EDS, FT-IR, XRD, XPS and Raman spectrum. Results have showed that graphene was peeled off and synchronously assembled on the stainless steel mesh in the form of dendritic structure. The dendritic structure was condutive to intercepting a large amount of air in the voids, resulting in superhydrophobic surface with water contact angle up to 150°. The biomimetic graphene skins can separate a series of oil and water mixtures, the separation efficiency was over 97%.