A facile approach for oil-water separation using superhydrophobic polystyrene-silica coated stainless steel mesh bucket.

Inspired by traditional shaduf technology in the irrigation field, we fabricated a superhydrophobic stainless steel mesh bucket by layering polystyrene and SiO nanoparticles through a facile dip coating technique for effective oil-water separation. The superhydrophobic steel mesh bucket could effectively lift oil as well as microplastic pollutants from the water surface. The water contact angle of a two-layered polystyrene-silica coating was 158.