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Peer-reviewedCC BYNano-Micro Letters

Biomimetic Multi-Responsive Superwettable Materials for Oil–Water Separation

  • Chengkang Rao1
  • Xin Yan2
  • Zhiguang Guo3,4
  • Weimin Liu5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for the Green Preparation and Application of Functional Materials, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, People's Republic of China
  2. 2Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for the Green Preparation and Application of Functional Materials, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, People's Republic of China. [email protected]
  3. 3Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for the Green Preparation and Application of Functional Materials, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, People's Republic of China. [email protected]
  4. 4State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China. [email protected]
  5. 5State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China
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Abstract

Industrial oily wastewater discharges and marine oil spills pose a serious threat to ecosystems. A new strategy for efficient and controllable oil-water separation is provided by smart-responsive wettability materials, owing to their ability to dynamically switch surface wettability in response to external stimuli. Under this premise, we reviewed the research progress and applications of such materials. First, we described the theoretical basis of wettability and the mechanism of oil-water separation. Subsequently, we comparatively analyzed the structural characteristics and separation properties of four types of special wettable materials. We focused on eight categories of smart response wetting materials: temperature, pH, light, electricity, gas, ion, solvent, and multi-response. For each type, we analyzed the response mechanisms, advantages, and limitations in oil-water separation. In addition, we compared the advantages and disadvantages of key preparation techniques such as layer-by-layer self-assembly, electrostatic spinning, and surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. Finally, we summarized the current research status and challenges in the field of smart-responsive wetting materials and looked forward to future development directions.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{rao2026biomimetic,
  title = {{Biomimetic Multi-Responsive Superwettable Materials for Oil–Water Separation}},
  author = {Chengkang Rao and Xin Yan and Zhiguang Guo and Weimin Liu},
  journal = {Nano-Micro Letters},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  doi = {10.1007/s40820-026-02222-8},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-026-02222-8},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Biomimetic Multi-Responsive Superwettable Materials for Oil–Water Separation
AU  - Chengkang Rao
AU  - Xin Yan
AU  - Zhiguang Guo
AU  - Weimin Liu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/21
JO  - Nano-Micro Letters
DO  - 10.1007/s40820-026-02222-8
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-026-02222-8
AB  - Industrial oily wastewater discharges and marine oil spills pose a serious threat to ecosystems. A new strategy for efficient and controllable oil-water separation is provided by smart-responsive wettability materials, owing to their ability to dynamically switch surface wettability in response to external stimuli. Under this premise, we reviewed the research progress and applications of such materials. First, we described the theoretical basis of wettability and the mechanism of oil-water separation. Subsequently, we comparatively analyzed the structural characteristics and separation properties of four types of special wettable materials. We focused on eight categories of smart response wetting materials: temperature, pH, light, electricity, gas, ion, solvent, and multi-response. For each type, we analyzed the response mechanisms, advantages, and limitations in oil-water separation. In addition, we compared the advantages and disadvantages of key preparation techniques such as layer-by-layer self-assembly, electrostatic spinning, and surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. Finally, we summarized the current research status and challenges in the field of smart-responsive wetting materials and looked forward to future development directions.
SN  - 2150-5551
SN  - 2311-6706
ER  -