Hydrophobic stainless-steel copper-coated mesh and method of synthesizing same
Disclosed is a copper coated stainless-steel hydrophobic mesh and a method for synthesizing the hydrophobic mesh. In the method, a stainless-steel mesh is sonicated in a solution of acetone and ethanol, and then electroplated in a copper solution to form a copper coating on the surface of the mesh. The copper-coated stainless-steel mesh is treated with an oxidizing solution having an oxidizing potential applied to it. The mesh is then washed with water and dried. The copper-coated stainless-steel mesh is then immersed in a lauric acid solution. The mesh is then rinsed with ethanol to remove adsorbed lauric acid. After drying, the so-synthesized copper-coated stainless-steel hydrophobic mesh is characterized in that it has hydrophobic branches of lauric acid.
1. A method for synthesizing a hydrophobic mesh, the method comprising:
sonicating a stainless-steel mesh in a solution of acetone and ethanol;
electroplating the stainless-steel mesh in a copper solution to form a copper coating on the surface of the stainless-steel mesh;
treating the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh with an oxidizing solution, wherein an oxidizing potential is applied in the oxidizing solution, and wherein the oxidizing solution comprises 0.03M K 2 SO 4 and 1M KOH;
washing the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh with water and drying the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh;
immersing the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh in a lauric acid solution;
rinsing the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh with ethanol to remove adsorbed lauric acid; and
drying the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh,
wherein the hydrophobic mesh comprises hydrophobic branches of lauric acid.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the stainless-steel mesh is sonicated for approximately 10 minutes.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the copper solution is a CuSO 4 solution.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a potential of approximately 2.5V to approximately 3.5V is applied to the copper solution during electroplating at a temperature of approximately 60° C.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the application of potential during the electroplating step results in the formation of a plurality of functionalized copper oxide growths on the surface of the stainless-steel mesh each having a diameter of approximately 3 μm to 40 μm.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the oxidizing potential is approximately 2V.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lauric acid solution comprises 0.1M lauric acid solution in ethanol.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of drying the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh comprises drying the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh in an oven at approximately 50° C.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein treating the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh with the oxidizing solution results in a mesh having an architecture on its surface that comprises a plurality of copper oxide growths.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hydrophobic mesh displays a water contact angle of approximately 160°.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hydrophobic mesh has a separation efficiency of greater than 99% for the separation of non-polar components from water.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the non-polar components comprise hexane, heptane, nonane, and decane.
13. A method for synthesizing a hydrophobic mesh, the method comprising:
sonicating a stainless-steel mesh in a solution of acetone and ethanol;
electroplating the stainless-steel mesh in a copper solution to form a copper coating on the surface of the stainless-steel mesh;
treating the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh with an oxidizing solution, wherein an oxidizing potential is applied in the oxidizing solution;
washing the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh with water and drying the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh;
immersing the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh in a lauric acid solution;
rinsing the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh with ethanol to remove adsorbed lauric acid; and
drying the copper-coated stainless-steel mesh,
wherein the hydrophobic mesh comprises hydrophobic branches of lauric acid, and wherein the oxidizing solution consists of 0.03M K 2 SO 4 and 1M KOH.