Self-fibering growth in the soot-templated CVD coating of silica on mesh for efficient oil/water separation

Highlights: • A comprehensive study of SiO₂ grown by chemical vapor deposition is conducted on soot-coated porous mesh. • Silica nano-fibred network mesh with good mechanical abrasion and durability is fabricated using chemical vapor deposition. • The mesh shows excellent superhydrophobic and superoleophilic properties which can effectively separate oil-water mixtures. • Tubular separator is presented to avoid the effect of water blockage on oil-penetration in most-used filter system. A comprehensive study of SiO₂ grown by chemical vapor deposition is conducted on soot coated copper mesh, from which an excellent superhydrophobic-superoleophilic filter mesh is demonstrated using the structure of nano-fibered network. A dynamical model of "flow-guided dehydration" including the microscopic interplay between "flow-induced diffusion" and dehydration is presented. Furthermore, we present a device based on tubular separator to purify oily wastewater that is very much like tap-water delivering in daily life, which does not cause the problem of water blockage.