LAUSR

Abstract Oily wastewater has severely affected the water environment health. To better overcome this problem, a number of superhydrophobic or superoleophobic materials have been used for oil/water separation. Nevertheless, there are still great challenges in the simple and rapid environmentally- friendly preparation method. In this study, a superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic surface was fabricated for oil/water separation by soaking the stainless steel meshes (SSM) into cement solution. The as-fabricated surface exhibited a high oil contact angle (OCA, 159 ± 2°) in water environment. In addition, the cement-coated stainless steel meshes (CCSSM) separated the oil/water mixtures with a high separation efficiency of over 90% and a permeate flux of 3397 L m-2 h-1. Moreover, after reuse for 5 times, the cement-coated meshes maintained a separation efficiency of over 95% in separating the lubricating oil /water mixtures. Besides, they still maintained the underwater superoleophobicity after being stored in real seawater for 15 days or in extreme solution (pH, 4-12), thus displaying their corrosion resistance. Meanwhile, they bore sand impact for 8 times and possessed superior antifouling performance. Further, the underlying mechanism was also extensively examined.