Organic Media Superwettability: On-Demand Liquid Separation by Controlling Surface Chemistry

Superwettability involving water affinity has demonstrated prominent advantages in oil-water separation. However, superwetting surfaces in nonpolar liquid-polar liquid systems are rarely explored for the separation of organic liquids. In this work, a protocol of elaborately controlling surface chemistry is presented to construct dual superlyophobic surfaces for polar or nonpolar liquids in opposite organic media. On two kinds of silver-roughened copper coatings, a polar hydroxyl group is subtly integrated with nonpolar perfluoroalkyl chain at the nanoscale. Prewetted by one organic liquid, the obtained dual superlyophobic mesh can selectively intercept other immiscible organic liquids, realizing high-efficiency on demand separation. In theory, the dual superlyophobic surfaces in organic media are strongly dependent on their affinity toward polar liquids and the surface roughness. The discovery may promote the development of organic liquid-related interfacial materials.