Clean water resources are crucial for human society, as the leakage and discharge of oily wastewater not only harm the economy but also disrupt our living environment. Therefore, there is an urgent need for efficient oil-water separation technology. Surfaces with switchable superwetting behavior have garnered significant attention due to their importance in both fundamental research and practical applications. This review introduces the fundamental principles of wettability in the oil-water separation process, the basic theory of switchable wettability, and the mechanisms involved in oil-water separation. Subsequently, the review discusses the research progress, challenges, and issues associated with three conventional types of special wettability materials: superhydrophobic/superoleophilic materials, superhydrophilic/superoleophobic materials, and superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic materials. Most importantly, it provides a detailed exploration of recent advancements in switchable wettability smart materials, which combine elements of traditional special wettability materials. These include stimulus-responsive smart materials, pre-wetting-induced materials, and Janus materials. The discussion covers key response factors, detailed examples of representative works, design concepts, and fabrication strategies. Finally, the review offers a comprehensive summary of switchable superwetting smart materials, encompassing their advantages and disadvantages, persistent challenges, and future prospects. 

Biomimetic materials in oil/water separation: Focusing on switchable wettabilities and applications.

In the past few decades, inspired by the superhydrophobic surfaces (SHPS) of animals and plants such as lotus leaves, rose petals, legs of water striders, and wings of butterflies, preparing metal materials with metallic SHPS (MSHPS) have attracted great research interest, due to the great prospect in practical applications. To obtain SHPS on conventional metal materials, it is necessary to construct rough surface, followed by modification with low surface energy substances. In this paper, the action mechanism and the current research status of MSHPS were reviewed through the following aspects. Firstly, the model of wetting theory was presented, and then the progress in MSHPS preparation through chemical etching method was discussed. Secondly, the applications of MSHPS in self-cleaning, anti-icing, corrosion resistance, drag reduction, oil-water separation, and other aspects were introduced. Finally, the challenges encountered in the present application of MSHPS were summarized, and the future research interests were discussed. 

Recent advances in preparation of metallic superhydrophobic surface by chemical etching and its applications

The growing interest in superhydrophobic materials for oil/water separation has become evident. Concurrently, there exists a pressing requirement for superhydrophobic materials capable of achieving ultra-fast oil/water separation with an environmentally friendly, low-cost, and facile preparation strategy. Herein, an ecofriendly superhydrophobic fabric is prepared through a process involving self-assembly between iron ions and 1,3,5-benzene tricarboxylic acid (H3BTC), followed by hydrophobic modification of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). In this process, gallic acid (GA) undergoes self-polymerization and reacts with ethylenediamine (ED) by the Schiff base reaction to form polymers, which act as metal active sites before the self-assembly between iron ions and H3BTC takes place. The obtained superhydrophobic fabric with self-cleaning function features ultra-fast oil/water separation performance, with a flux of 32,527.18 ± 243.22 L m−2 h−1 and a separation efficiency of 99.87 ± 0.02 %. Moreover, the superhydrophobic fabric has good recyclability. Even after 30 times of oil/water separation, it still has ultra-fast separation rate and superhigh separation efficiency, with a flux of 20,678.17 ± 137.58 L m−2 h−1 and 99.47 ± 0.16 % separation efficiency. In addition, the superhydrophobic fabric maintains outstanding superhydrophobicity after treatment in the chemical or physical environment. 

Ecofriendly superhydrophobic fabrics for ultra-fast oil/water separation by self-assembly

Developing superhydrophobic metal surfaces with excellent mechanical durability for anti-icing applications in polar ships remains a significant challenge. This study utilized a combination of picosecond laser processing and vacuum heat treatment to create robust superhydrophobic surfaces with an 'armour' structure on low-temperature steel FH36. This preparation process eliminates the need for chemicals and results in a superhydrophobic surface with outstanding mechanical durability. he superhydrophobic low-temperature steel surface can withstand abrasion from 800-grit sandpaper for 8 m under a pressure of 5.18 kPa. Furthermore, the robust superhydrophobic surface successfully passed a series of mechanical durability tests, including tape peeling, falling sand impact, blade scraping, and steel wool friction experiments. 

Construction of robust superhydrophobic surfaces with an 'armour' structure on the low-temperature steels by picosecond laser processing

The increase in the discharge of industrial oily wastewater poses a threat to the environment and human health. Thus, the treatment of oily wastewater has become a focus of current research. The superhydrophobic surface derived from the lotus effect provides an effective direction for oil-water separation. Based on this, the authors reported a tunable superhydrophobic stainless steel separation mesh with a water contact angle of 155° through simple electrodeposition and modification with a fluorine-free modifier. In this work, the separation mesh with different surface morphology, by controlling different electrodeposition time and current, is able to achieve oil-water separation with super flux up to 51561 L/(m2·h) in heavy oil/water mixture and high-efficiency over 99.5% in water-in-oil emulsion. This controllable process constructs superhydrophobic membrane with tunable pore size, which is capable of separating heavy oil/water mixtures and water-in-oil emulsions depending on the process. This proposal is suggestive in the field of oil-water separation. 

Controllable process to construct robust superhydrophobic membrane with tunable pore size for efficient separation of oil-water mixtures and emulsions

Ultrasonic assisted rapid preparation of superhydrophobic stainless steel surface and its application in oil/water separation.

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Ultrasonic assisted rapid preparation of superhydrophobic stainless steel surface and its application in oil/water separation.