Flexible, Durable, and Unconditioned Superoleophobic/Superhydrophilic Surfaces for Controllable Transport and Oil–Water Separation

Superoleophobic/superhydrophilic surfaces have incomparable advantages for oil–water separation and oil droplet manipulation; however, such surfaces are difficult to obtain on the basis of surface tension theory, and existing attempts are either not fully functional or are nondurable. Here, a solution to achieve the combination of superoleophobicity and superhydrophilicity by emphasizing the polar component of surface tension is proposed. The developed surfaces can be flexibly applied to almost any solid substrate and exhibit superoleophobic and instantaneous superhydrophilic property. The surfaces applied to certain substrates can be used for controllable oil transport, oil–water separation, and emulsion demulsification. Furthermore, a novel ferroconcrete‐like structure to substantially increase the durability of the developed surfaces without affecting the superwettability is developed. The coated steel meshes preserve the ability of the material to separate oil–water mixtures even after over 400 m abrasion, which can be a significant step toward its widespread application. A novel flexible, unconditioned superoleophobic/superhydrophilic coating is proposed. The coated porous substrates have good performance in separating oil–water mixtures and stabilized oil‐in‐water emulsions. Of particular interest, the treated surface has a controllable drivability of oil droplets. The mechanical durability of coated surfaces substantially increases by applying the proposed ferroconcrete‐like structure.