Zinc oxide (ZnO) coated superhydrophobic and superoleophilic stainless steel meshes are facilely fabricated via chemical immersion growth and subsequent surface modification. The as-prepared meshes show good mechanical durability, chemical stability and corrosion-resistant properties due to a combination of the hierarchical ZnO structure and the low surface energy modification. More importantly, the as-prepared meshes are used for highly efficient separation of various oil/water mixtures. Meanwhile, a new oil skimmer based on the as-prepared mesh is proposed to spontaneously collect floating oil with high separation efficiency and desirable durability.

To find good candidate materials for degradable bridgeplugs used in shale oil or gas exploitation, a novel hot extruded Mg-4Y-1Zn-1Cu alloy with long period stacking order (LPSO) phase and excellent mechanical properties and rapid degradation rate was fabricated. Compared with the Mg-4Y-1Zn alloy, the compressive properties of Mg-4Y- 1Zn-1Cu alloy are dramatically enhanced by adding Cu, with a compressive strength of 480 MPa, which can be attributed to the formation of fine-grains and the strengthening LPSO phase distributed within the substrate. Furthermore, Mg-4Y-1Zn-1Cu alloy shows a rapid degradation rate as demonstrated by immersion tests and polarization curves, with about 30 times higher corrosion rate than Mg- 4Y-1Zn alloy, which can be attributed to the 14H-type LPSO phase containing Cu with high corrosion potential and high fraction grain boundaries.