This paper demonstrates a stainless-steel (SS) nano-pyramid structure (diameter of ~20–50 nm and pore size of 156.1 nm) sputter-coated on mixed cellulose ester (MCE) membrane for the use in separation of oil/water emulsions. SS-coated MCE membrane presented a superhydrophilic, antifouling surface as well as underwater superoleophobicity. The coated membrane achieved excellent separation efficiency of >99% when applied to light oil-water emulsions with a range of viscosities and densities. The highest permeation flux measured was 1,555 L m⁻² h⁻¹ when applied to toluene-in-water emulsions. The membrane also presented outstanding recyclability, as evidenced by oil rejection rate retaining at >99% through four separation cycles. The coated membrane was also shown to work well under harsh conditions including salty water, extreme pH values (1–14), and high temperatures (60 °C). In addition, our fabrication route of SS-coated MCE employs low process temperature while being highly scalable, which is favorable for industrial-scale applications.

本文展示了一种不锈钢 (SS) 纳米金字塔结构（直径约为 20–50 nm，孔径为 156.1 nm）溅射涂层在混合纤维素酯 (MCE) 膜上，用于分离油/水乳液. 涂有 SS 的 MCE 膜具有超亲水性、防污表面以及水下超疏油性。当应用于具有一系列粘度和密度的轻质油水乳液时，涂层膜实现了 >99% 的出色分离效率。测得的最高渗透通量为 1,555 L m ⁻² h ⁻¹当应用于水包甲苯乳液时。该膜还具有出色的可回收性，四个分离循环中的除油率保持在 >99% 就证明了这一点。涂层膜还显示在恶劣条件下也能正常工作，包括盐水、极端 pH 值 (1–14) 和高温 (60 °C)。此外，我们的 SS 涂层 MCE 制造路线采用低工艺温度，同时具有高度可扩展性，有利于工业规模的应用。