Protein-activated atomic layer deposition for robust crude-oil-repellent hierarchical nano-armored membranes

Atomic layer deposition(ALD)offers unique capabilities to fabricate atomically engineered porous materials with precise pore tuning and multi-functionalization for diverse applications like advanced membrane separations towards sustainable energy-water systems.However,current ALD technique is inhibited on most non-polar polymeric membranes due to lack of accessible nucleation sites.Here,we report a facile method to efficiently promote ALD coating on hydrophobic surface of polymeric membranes via novel protein activation/sensitization.As a proof of concept,TiO2 ALD-coated membranes activated by bovine serum albumin exhibit remarkable superhydrophilicity,ultralow underwater crude oil adhesion,and robust tolerance to rigorous environments including acid,alkali,saline,and ethanol.Most importantly,excellent cyclable crude oil-in-water emulsion separation performance can be achieved.The mechanism for activation/sensitization is rooted in reactivity for a particular set of amino acids.Furthermore,the universality of protein-sensitized ALD is demonstrated using common egg white,promising numerous potential usages in biomedical engineering,environmental remediation,lowcarbon manufacturing,catalysis,and beyond.