Superwettable Coprinus comatus coated membranes used toward the controllable separation of emulsified oil/water mixtures

Separation of emulsified oil/water mixtures has become an increasingly important topic worldwide. Superwetting materials offer a good platform for emulsified oil/water separation, whereas these materials can generally separate one type of emulsion. For controllable oil/water separation, switchable wetting materials have been adopted. However, the use of these materials is generally restricted by a variety of factors, such as stimuli-responsive molecules and continuous external stimuli. Herein, we reported an intelligent membrane for the controllable separation of oil/water emulsions, which exhibited high efficiency as a single-unit and did not require any continuous external stimuli. Combining nanoscale pores and the switchable wettability between underwater superoleophobicity and underoil (super) hydrophobicity, the controllable separation of oilinwater and waterinoil emulsions could be easily implemented by alternatively washing the membrane with ethanol and drying it. In addition, the as-obtained membrane still presented excellent separation efficiencies, above 99.0% after six cycles. Moreover, the as-prepared membrane exhibited outstanding mechanical properties and stability under various harsh conditions. The reported method could be used to prepare such membranes on a large-scale and could open up new prospects for manufacturing novel oil/water emulsions separating materials.