{"paper_id":"49f4a0b7-1e29-4e3d-ae7e-e5f1f9248774","body_text":"Layered gel emulsion-templated Janus porous composites for emulsified oil separation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Layered gel emulsion-templated Janus porous composites for emulsified oil separation Shixiang Zuo, Chunyu Wang, Nawaa Ali Husaykan Alshammari, Salah Mohamad El-Bahy, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4366662/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 29 Oct, 2024 Read the published version in Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials → Version 1 posted 15 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Efficient separation of emulsified oil is urgently needed to repair the ecological environment, given the explosive development in modern industrial civilization. Herein, Janus porous composites were constructed using two different paraffin oil-in-dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) gel emulsions. One of the gel emulsions contained graphene oxide (GO) within the DMSO phase, while the other continuous phase was dissolved with triarm hydroxyl-terminated poly( ε -caprolactone) (PCL-triol). To create Janus porous composites, the gel emulsions were overlaid and solidified with poly[(phenyl isocyanate)- co -formaldehyde] through step-growth polymerization. The resultant GO/PCL Janus porous composites exhibited an asymmetric double-layer structure with a tightly bonded interface. GO/PCL Janus porous composites displayed asymmetric surface wettability, functioning as a liquid diode, and enabling effective separation of oil-in-water (O/W) miniemulsion. The separation efficiency could be further improved under simulated solar irradiation, due to heat-induced viscosity reduction and phase separation caused by the photothermal conversion effect of the GO-based layer. These Janus porous composites demonstrated excellent performance in oil-water separation, making them an ideal candidate for such applications. Layered gel emulsion Janus porous composite unidirectional liquid permeation solar-driven synergy emulsified oil separation Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 1. Introduction Janus interface materials have attracted widespread interest since the forward-looking lecture of the Nobel Laureate, Prof. P. G. de Gennes in 1991 [ 1 ]. Janus materials can be designed at various length scales, from the molecular to micro-nano to macro-scale [ 2 – 4 ]. As a macro-scale Janus material, the Janus two-dimensional porous composite (Janus porous membrane) shows practical applications in advanced separation techniques [ 5 – 7 ]. Janus porous membranes, with their asymmetric-wettability, act as liquid diodes by facilitating spontaneous unidirectional liquid permeation [ 8 ]. These membranes hold great potential for separating emulsified oils [ 9 – 11 ]. The asymmetric structure allows emulsified oil droplets to forcefully migrate through, resulting in a significant reduction in their quantity and ultimately leading to complete demulsification [ 12 , 13 ]. However, there are still significant challenges in achieving high separation efficiency for emulsions containing fine particle sizes and high viscosity droplets. Microporous membranes have shown promise in effectively separating minisize emulsified oils, commonly found in wastewater generated by various industries such as petrochemical, food, steel, medicine, and pesticide [ 14 – 16 ]. To achieve a balance between high permeation flux and high separation efficiency, the selective layer of microporous membranes must be thin enough, while retaining their effective pore size. Further research employed porous membranes with heterogeneous structures to separate minisize oils. For instance, a polydopamine/poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDA/PDDA) Janus membrane was utilized to separate both macro- and miniemulsions through the charge screening effect [ 17 ]. A 3D porous composite foam overcame the limitations of size-sieving effect by its advantageous porous structures [ 18 ]. The electro-induced oil coalescence by a superhydrophilic membrane strengthened the sieving effect and separated smaller oil droplets with bigger pores [ 19 ]. Porous biochar/nanofibrous aerogels exhibited a superhydrophobic surface and hierarchical porous structure, making them suitable for nanoemulsion separation [ 20 ]. Another challenge is the separation of highly viscous oil, driving various viscosity reduction strategies, such as photothermal effect [ 15 , 21 ], joule-heating [ 22 , 23 ], magneto-heating [ 24 ]. Fortunately, Janus composites offer the advantage of coupling multi-functionalities [ 3 , 25 ]. It is possible to achieve higher separation efficiency for minisize emulsified viscous oils using difunctional Janus porous composites. Janus porous composites are usually created through two approaches: asymmetric fabrication [ 10 , 26 – 28 ] and asymmetric decoration [ 17 , 29 – 31 ]. Emulsion-templated porous polymers have gained significant attention as mother porous materials, due to their controlled pore size, highly interconnected porous structure, and flexible scaffold constitution [ 32 – 35 ]. These porous polymers are typically templated by high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs), which were usually defined as gel emulsions, allowing he preparation of Janus or/and gradient porous materials. For example, polydisperse droplets were distributed gradationally under the centrifugal force, resulting in a gradient porous material after locking the structure and the subsequent purification [ 36 ]. More works used gel emulsions to create Janus or multi-layered porous materials through a simple patterning method [ 37 – 41 ]. Additionally, Janus porous materials were also fabricated from homogeneous emulsion-templated porous materials using an asymmetric decoration strategy [ 42 ]. Herein, as depicted in Fig. 1 , a series Janus porous composites were fabricated using layered gel emulsions as templates. For the template, a graphene oxide (GO) based gel emulsion was layered onto a poly( ε -caprolactone) (PCL) based gel emulsion. The PCL-based emulsion was formed by dissolving triarm hydroxyl-terminated PCL (PCL-triol) in a continuous phase of paraffin oil-in-dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) emulsion. On the other hand, the GO-based emulsion dispersed the GO in the DMSO and emulsified it with paraffin oil. The two gel emulsions were solidified using a step-growth polymerization with poly[(phenyl isocyanate)- co -formaldehyde] (polyMDI). To create a Janus porous composite, the gel emulsions were overlaid together before solidification. After the polymerization, the PCL-based layer and GO-based layer were tightly bonded. The resultant GO/PCL Janus porous composites exhibited asymmetric surface wettability and photothermal conversion effect. The GO/PCL Janus porous composites efficiently separated mixed oil and emulsified oil. Moreover, their efficiency was further enhanced under simulated solar irradiation. 2. Experimental sections 2.1. Materials Graphene oxide (GO, diameter: 0.5 ~ 5µm) were purchased from Nanjing Xianfeng Nano Co., Ltd. Pluronic®F-127, poly[(phenyl isocyanate)- co -formaldehyde] (polyMDI, M n ∼340), and dibutyltindilaurate (DBTDL) were purchased from Aladdin. Triarm hydroxyl-terminated polycaprolactone (PCL-triol, M n ∼500) was purchased from eSUN. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), paraffin oil, acetone, ethanol, chloroform, hexane, cetyltriethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and polyoxyethylene (EO20) sorbitan monooleate (Tween80) were purchased from Sinopharm. Colza oil, olive oil and peanut oil were purchased from a local supermarket. Prior to use, DMSO and paraffin oil were dried using activated 3 Å molecular sieves. GO and F-127 were vacuum dried at 60°C for 24 h. Deionized water was used in all experiments. 2.2. Preparation of single hydrophilic porous composites The hydrophilic porous composite was synthesized using a nonaqueous gel emulsion templating method. GO was dispersed in a continuous phase of DMSO mixture. Typically, 1.00 g of GO, 2.50 g of F-127 and 15.40 g of DMSO were mixed and well dispersed using sonication as the continuous phase. Then, 75.00 g of paraffin oil was dropwise added to the DMSO mixture under stirring with a high-speed homogenizer, forming a paraffin oil-in-DMSO gel emulsion. After continuous stirring for 15 min, a polyMDI/DMSO solution (containing 1.00 g of polyMDI and 5.00 g of DMSO) was added. Subsequently, a few drops of DBTDL were added and stirring continued for 5 min (gel emulsion A). Solidified gels were formed through step-growth polymerization at 60°C for 24 h. Hydrophilic porous composites were obtained by removing unreacted monomer via Soxhlet extraction with acetone for 24 h, followed by water substitution and then freeze-drying. Recipes of hydrophilic porous composites were listed in Table S1 , and the resultant composites were denoted as GO- X , with X representing GO content within the continuous phase. 2.3. Preparation of single hydrophobic porous composites The hydrophobic porous composite was synthesized from the nonaqueous gel emulsion with PCL-triol dissolved in the continuous phase of DMSO solution. Typically, 1.25 g of PCL-triol, 2.50 g of F-127 were fully dissolved in 14.87 g of DMSO. Then, under stirring, 75.00 g of paraffin oil was added dropwise to the DMSO solution using a high-speed homogenizer. After stirring for 15 minutes, the gel emulsion was obtained. 1.25 g of polyMDI and 5.00 g of DMSO were immediately added. A few drops of DBTDL were dropped into the emulsion, followed by an additional 5 minutes of stirring (gel emulsion B). The step-growth polymerization was carried to solidify gels at 60°C for 24 h in a convection oven. Hydrophobic porous composites were collected by performing Soxhlet extraction with acetone for 24 h, followed by water substitution and then freeze-drying. Recipes of hydrophobic porous composites were listed in Table S2 , and the resultant composites were denoted as PCL- Y , where Y represented PCL concentration within the continuous phase. 2.4. Preparation of Janus porous composites Janus porous composites were prepared using a reported emulsion patterning method [ 39 , 41 ]. To start, gel emulsion A and gel emulsion B were prepared separately. The emulsions were then transferred into the corresponding syringes. Layered gel emulsions were created by extruding the two emulsions from the syringes into molds in a stepwise process. To do this, a circular mold was secured to a glass slide and filled with the gel emulsion B (or A). Then, the gel emulsion A (or B) was filled on the top of the gel emulsion B (or A). Next, the mold was moved into a convection oven and kept at 60°C for 24h. Janus porous composites was obtained through Soxhlet extraction, solvent substituting, and freeze-drying. 2.5. Liquid uptake with single porous composites The standard porous composites were tested to absorb different liquids according our previous methods [ 43 , 44 ]. In brief, approximately 100 mg of dry GO- X or PCL- Y ( m 0 ) was immersed in 20 mL of different liquids, including water, hexane, toluene, chloroform, soybean oil, peanut oil, and olive oil. The samples were then picked out using a tweezer once achieving an equilibrium uptake. After removing surface liquid with a filter paper, the mass ( m ∞ ) was recorded. The average value from at least three results was reported. The equilibrium volume uptake was calculated by ( m ∞ / m 0 -1)/ ρ L , where ρ L represented the density of the corresponding liquid. 2.6. Emulsified oil separation with Janus porous composites The model oil-in-water (O/W) miniemulsion, constituted by 1.0 wt% of Tween80, 0.5 wt% of CTAB, and water/oil volume ratio 10:1, was prepared using a low-energy emulsification method [ 45 ]. A piece of GO4/PCL5 Janus porous composite (GO4 thickness of about 1 mm and PCL5 thickness of around 3 mm) was fixed in a glass sand core filter with an effective separation area of 2.27 cm 2 . The hydrophilic GO- X face was placed upward for separation of the O/W miniemulsion. Gravity was used as the driving force for the separation process. After the separation process was completed, the oil concentration in trapped liquid was determined using an infrared spectrophotometer. In addition, a homemade foam box equipped with a xenon lamp was used to improve the separation efficiency under visible light irradiation. The separation efficiency ( R ) with and without the xenon lamp was calculated using R =(1- C f / C 0 )·100%, where C f and C 0 represented the oil concentration of the trapped liquid and miniemulsion, respectively [ 46 , 47 ]. 2.7. Characterizations The morphology of gel emulsions was observed using an optical microscope (Olympus DP71). Average droplet diameters and their distributions were statistically analyzed using ImageJ software. Rheological properties of gel emulsions were studied using a rheometer (Anton Paar MCR72) with a parallel-plate geometry (diameter: 40 mm, gap: 500 µm) at 25°C. Dynamic frequency sweeps were conducted with an angular frequency from 0.01 to 500 rad·s − 1 at a strain of 1%. The morphology of standard porous composites and Janus porous composites was analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM, FEI Nova NanoSEM450). Chemical constituents of composites were determined using a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, Bruker EQUINOX 55). Contact angles were measured using a Krüss Drop Shape Analysis System-100 (DSA 100). Infrared images were monitored with an infrared thermal camera (Ti7, Fluke). Droplet size distributions before and after emulsion separation were analyzed using a dynamic light scatterer (DLS, Zetasizer Nano ZS90). Oil concentrations before and after separation was determined using an infrared spectrophotometer (TJ270-30A). 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Synthesis of GO-based porous polymers Like previous works [ 43 , 48 ], mother nonaqueous gel emulsions were successfully fabricated with DMSO as the continuous phase, paraffin oil as the dispersed phase, and a nonionic surfactant, Pluronic®F-127, as the stabilizer. Herein, GO-based porous polymers (GO- X ) were prepared by dispersing GO within the DMSO phase prior to emulsification. The resultant gel emulsions demonstrated excellent stability, with no observed phase separation for over 1 week at ambient temperature or over 24 h at 70°C. Optical micrographs revealed the average dispersed droplet diameters were 33.38, 30.42, and 27.41 µm for gel emulsions with GO content of 4, 8, and 12 wt% in the continuous phase, respectively (Fig. S1 ). Rheological measurements confirmed the gel-like nature of these gel emulsions, as the storage modulus, G ’, was consistently higher than the corresponding loss modulus, G ’’ (Fig. S2 a). Additionally, all the GO-based gel emulsions exhibited characteristic shear thinning behavior (Fig. S2 b). GO- X samples with high gel contents of over 90 wt% were successfully synthesized through step-growth polymerization. Densities of GO-4, GO-8, and GO-12 were determined to be 0.09, 0.11, and 0.13 g·cm − 3 , respectively. FTIR spectra were used to analyze the chemical components of GO- X (Fig. 2 a). All GO- X samples exhibited two distinct peaks: the C = C stretching vibration of the aromatic ring of polyMDI at 1595 cm − 1 ; and the amide-II (NH-C = O) bending absorption at 1540 cm − 1 . The stretching absorptions at 1700 and 1660 cm − 1 corresponded to urethane C = O and urea C = O groups, respectively, which confirmed the presence of both polyurethane (PU) and polyurea (PUA) in GO- X [ 43 ]. Macroporous structures of GO- X were observed from SEM images (Fig. 2 b, 2 c, and 2 d). Average macropore diameters were statistically analysed using the ImageJ, and the results were multiplied by 2/(3 1/2 ) to correct for the random nature of the section [ 49 ]. The calculated macropore diameters were 40.68, 37.60, and 33.89 µm for GO-4, GO-8, and GO-12, respectively. These results showed a strong correlation with the droplet diameters of GO-based gel emulsions. Moreover, the macropores were highly interconnected, and the pore throat sizes ranged from 2 to 15 µm. In the magnified SEM images, the rough scaffold was covered with nanosheets, which had a positive effect on subsequent emulsified oil separation. 3.2. Synthesis of PCL-based porous polymers PCL-based porous polymers (PCL- Y ) were templated by the similar nonaqueous gel emulsions, where PCL-triol was dissolved in the DMSO continuous phase. The PCL-based gel emulsions were found to remain stable at ambient temperature for over 1 week or at 70°C for 24 h, confirming the feasibility of solidifying the PCL-triol through step-growth polymerization. Compared with GO-based gel emulsions, dispersed droplets in PCL-based ones were smaller in size, with average diameters of 11.45, 9.41, and 8.10 µm for the PCL-5, PCL-10, and PCL-20 HIPE, respectively (Fig. S3 ). Rheological studies further confirmed gel-like properties of the emulsions (Fig. S4). Monolithic PCL- Y samples were obtained through step-growth polymerization, purification and drying. The PCL- Y samples were also highly crosslinked with a gel content exceeding 90 wt%. However, compared to GO- X , corresponding PCL- Y samples exhibited slightly higher densities: 0.13, 0.16, and 0.23 g·cm − 3 for PCL-5, PCL-10, and PCL-20, respectively. The higher density was the result of shrinkage during fabrication. FTIR spectra of the PCL- Y showed two peaks appeared at 3510 and 3350 cm − 1 , which corresponded to the free and bonded N-H stretching from PU or PUA (Fig. 3 a) [ 48 ]. The stretching absorptions of the urethane C = O and urea C = O groups shifted to 1730 and 1710 cm − 1 , respectively. PCL-based porous polymers exhibited well-defined emulsion-templated macroporous structures, indicating greater stability of the gel emulsions during polymerization (Fig. 3 b, 3 c, and 3 d). The polymeric scaffolds were visibly corrugated, particularly the PCL-5 and PCL-10, due to unavoidable shrinkage. The correctional average macropore diameters were located at 17.56, 14.50, and 11.47 µm for PCL-5, PCL-10, and PCL-20, respectively. The macropore sizes fell within 1 to 20 µm, and the average size of interconnecting pore throats ranged from 0.2 to 0.5 µm, like conventional emulsion-templated porous polymers [ 32 ]. 3.3. Surface wettability and liquid uptake of non-layered porous polymers The wettability of GO- X and PCL- Y samples were studied using water contact angles (WCAs). The instant WCAs for GO- X decreased sharply from 78.9° to around 64.8° as the GO content increased from 4 to 12 wt% (Fig. 4 a ~ 4c). Moreover, the GO- X samples could be perfectly wetted by water at approximately 60, 40, and 25 s for GO-4, GO-8, and GO-12, respectively, due to the hydrophilicity of GO. On the other hand, the average WCAs for the PCL- Y slightly increased from 128.4° to 136.9° with increasing PCL content from 5 to 20 wt% (Fig. 4 d ~ 4f). However, the WCAs were hardly be raised any further, possibly because the hydrophilic NH 2 groups in PU or PUA and PEO blocks of F-127 were present during or after polymerization [ 48 ]. In general, the GO- X samples exhibited hydrophilic properties, while the PCL- Y samples were hydrophobic. The GO- X and PCL- Y samples could preferentially absorb different liquids, making them suitable to produce asymmetric layered porous materials. The GO- X samples, specifically GO-4, GO-8, and GO-12, were hydrophilic and absorbed significant amounts of water, with capacities of approximately 28.4, 26.5, and 24.4 mL·g − 1 , respectively (Fig. 4 g). The water absorption capabilities of GO- X were directly related to their porosities. Additionally, the GO- X could still absorb a small quantity of organic solvents or oils, such as hexane, toluene, chloroform, soybean oil, peanut oil, and olive oil. Notably, the GO-4 exhibited highest uptake capacities among the GO- X samples, ranging from 2.5 to 12.0 mL·g − 1 , with the maximum capacities observed for chloroform. The absorption of organic solvents or oils by GO- X may be attributed to the polyMDI structure in PU or PUA and PPO blocks of F-127. On the other hand, the hydrophobic PCL- Y showed observably higher uptake capacities of organic solvents or oils (Fig. 4 h). Liquid uptakes within PCL- Y decreased with increasing PCL content, and PCL-5 exhibited the highest uptakes for water, hexane, toluene, chloroform, soybean oil, peanut oil, and olive oil, with values of 0, 19.8, 23.0, 26.8, 17.5, 16.2, and 13.9 mL·g − 1 , respectively. The uptake capacities indicated that the uptake was mainly contributed by the original porosity, which is different from conventional polyHIPEs where uptake is mostly contributed by gel-swelling-driven pore expansion [ 32 ]. The low uptake of GO- X and PCL- Y , associated with pore expansion, could be explained by their high crosslinking degree, demonstrating their dimensional stability as separating membranes. 3.4. Preparation of GO/PCL Janus porous composites Layered porous composites were obtained by patterning GO- and PCL-based gel emulsions, followed by polymerization, purification, and drying. The pore morphology, interface, and structural asymmetry were characterized using SEM (Fig. 5 ). Each layered porous composite exhibited a continuous interface and showed two distinct pore morphologies (Fig. 5 a ~ 5c). Both sides exhibit a similar porous structure to the original GO- X and PCL- Y samples, but the pore homogeneity of the layered porous composites was lower. This difference in porous morphology was most noticeable in the GO4/PCL5 layered composite, which consisted of the two formulations with the highest porosity [ 39 ]. In general, each layer in the layered composites reflected the formulation used to prepare the GO- and PCL-based gel emulsions. Moreover, the interface became less curved as the content of GO and PCL increased, mainly due to the reduced shrinkage during and after the preparation process. Morphological studies confirmed that the patterning process of layered composites did not disrupt the final porous structures, but the interfaces were affected by the porosity of individual porous polymers. Additionally, the structural asymmetry of the GO4/PCL5 layered composite was examined using SEM images without gold sputtering (Fig. 5 d). The SEM image showed that the GO4/PCL5 layered composite appeared smeared, suggesting that the entire composite has lower conductivity [ 50 ]. The PCL- Y samples were found to be insulative, leading to a high charge in the SEM image, whereas the conductive GO- X samples could be observed without gold sputtering. In Fig. 5 d, the highly charged PCL-based layer and the conductive GO-based layer were well combined with a clear interface. Therefore, the layered composites exhibited strict asymmetry, which could be defined as Janus composites. 3.5. Mechanical analysis of GO/PCL Janus porous composites Compressive stress-strain curves were presented for the GO- X and PCL- Y , which exhibited typical stress-strain behaviors seen in conventional polyHIPEs: a linear region at low strains, followed by a stress plateau region and finally an abrupt increase in stress at the densification or crushing region (Fig. 6 a and 6 b) [ 43 , 48 ]. The Young’s modulus ( E ) of GO- X ranged from 1.6 to 10.2 MPa, while the E of PCL-Y ranged from 6.5 to 97.0 MPa. It was observed that the Young's modulus increased with the density of the corresponding porous polymers. Surprisingly, no failure was observed in these highly crosslinked GO- X and PCL- Y , even at a high compressive strain of 70%, attributed to the influence of their relatively high porosities on a deformation mechanism. Furthermore, the porous polymers, particularly the PCL- Y samples, exhibited excellent resilient-elasticity recovery (Fig. S5). For instance, the PCL-5 sample could completely recover even after being compressed with a high strain of 70%. Mechanical properties of GO/PCL Janus porous composites were studied using an example, the GO4/PCL5 composite. This composite was compressed in both the vertical and horizontal directions of the interface (Fig. 6 c). In the vertical direction, the GO4/PCL5 composite exhibited a compressive stress-strain curve like that of the homogeneous porous polymers. The Young’s modulus ( E ) for GO4/PCL5 composite was located at 4.7 MPa, which was approximately the arithmetic mean of the homogeneous GO4 and PCL5. However, the stress-strain curve was quite different when the GO4/PCL5 composite was horizontally compressed. The curve showed two elastic regions, which could be attributed to the destruction of the interface and the composite itself. The modulus was about 1.8 MPa in the first elastic region, while it increased to 4.1 MPa in the second region. Therefore, the strengthening of bonding interfaces was closer to that observed in GO-based porous polymers. 3.6. Asymmetric photothermal conversion of GO/PCL Janus porous composites The temperature evolution on both sides of the GO4/PCL5 Janus porous composite was studied using an infrared thermal imager under the simulated solar irradiation with a xenon lamp (Fig. 7 ). The GO4 surface showed an efficient photothermal conversion performance. Specifically, the temperature increased from 22.7°C to 39.7°C (Fig. 7 a), from 21.1°C to 79.3°C (Fig. 7 b), and from 24.8°C to 115.2°C (Fig. 7 c) within 90 s under 0.1, 0.6 and 1.2 kW·m − 2 irradiation, respectively. In contrast, the temperature of the PCL5 surface only increased from 20.4°C to 49.8°C after being irradiated under simulative solar of 1.2 kW·m − 2 for 90 s (Fig. 7 d). GO exhibits outstanding photothermal properties due to its two-dimensional layer structure, which consists of stacked hexagonally arranged carbon atoms [ 51 ]. Moreover, the dispersion of GO was limited to the GO-based layers, causing an asymmetric photothermal conversion effect in the Janus porous composites. To gain a better understanding of this asymmetric photothermal conversion, the surface temperatures were recorded as a function of irradiation time (Fig. 7 e). The temperature on GO4 surface rapidly climbed under strong simulated solar of 1.2 kW·m − 2 , while the temperature on the PCL5 surface remained lower. The photothermal conversion effect on PCL5 surface (under 1.2 kW·m − 2 irradiation) was comparable to that of the GO4 surface under an extremely weaker simulated solar irradiation of 0.1 kW·m − 2 . Interestingly, regardless of the conditions, the surface temperatures initially jumped to a high level during the early stages of irradiation and finally reached a temperature plateau when the heat transforming from the simulated solar and transferring to the surroundings were balanced. 3.7. Oil droplet transportation and emulsified oil separation The Janus porous composites showed unique mass transportation behaviors due to their dual configuration with opposite wettability characteristics [ 5 , 52 – 54 ]. It was well known that oil droplets could move through the composite under capillary forces, which determine the state of oil droplets when they encounter the porous media. In a Janus porous composite, its asymmetric wettability leaded to opposite Young-Laplace capillary pressures ( P ) acting on the oil droplet. The upward capillary pressure ( P 1 ), which was generated by the hydrophilic side, repelled the oil out of the composite, while the hydrophobic side created a downward capillary pressure ( P 2 ) that drew the oil into the pores. As a result, the oil droplet was directed across the Janus porous composites, achieving the oil/water separation. The directional transmembrane phenomenon of an underwater chloroform droplet was experimentally recorded with a camera (Fig. 8 a and 8 b). The droplet transferred from the hydrophilic side to the hydrophobic one within 4 s (Fig. 8 a and Movie S1). Initially, the chloroform droplet maintained a globular shape when it met the water-wetted hydrophilic side due to the underwater superoleophobicity. Then, the droplet shrank instead of spreading on the hydrophilic side, indicating it remained in a nonwettable state and underwent directional movement across the composite. Finally, the hydrophilic surface returned to its original state with no traces, confirming the successful transmembrane process of the oil droplet. In comparison, the transmembrane process under simulated solar irradiation was much faster, taking only 1 s (Fig. 8 b and Movie S2). This phenomenon could be attributed to the temperature-drive viscosity reducing of chloroform droplets on the GO-based photothermal surface. These GO/PCL Janus porous composites have shown significant potential in the separation of high-viscous crude oil or/and edible oil which viscosity is primarily influenced by temperature, as described by Glaso’s formula [ 55 , 56 ]. The separation of the oil-in-water miniemulsions was studied both without and with simulated solar irradiation (Fig. 8 c and 8 d). Chloroform-in-water miniemulsions were prepared using a phase inversion temperature (PIT) method, with the synergistic stabilization of the nonionic surfactant, Tween80, and the cationic surfactant, CTAB [ 45 ]. The as-obtained miniemulsions exhibited a typical Tyndall effect when a light beam passed through the separation column. OM images and DLS results confirmed that nanosized droplets were uniformly dispersed within the miniemulsion, with an average droplet diameter of approximately 887.5 nm. After being left to separate under gravity for over 2 h, the liquid within the column became clear without the Tyndall effect (Fig. 8 c). Less visible droplets were found in the OM image, and the average size was jumped to approximately 61.1 nm. The separation mechanism of miniemulsions might involve the synergistic effect between the interlaced transmission channel inside the composites [ 57 ] and the negative charge of GO on the channel wall [ 58 ]. The separation process was significantly accelerated under simulated solar irradiation, resulting in a clear water phase within 30 min without any visible oil droplets from the OM image (Fig. 8 d). The infrared spectrophotometer analysis about the depurated water phase confirmed an extremely low oil concentration of about 0.05%. The enhanced separation efficiency could be attributed to the reduction in oil phase viscosity [ 59 ] and the phase separation of the nonionic surfactant (cloud point) [ 60 ]. In summary, the Janus porous composites could effectively separate oil-in-water miniemulsions combined effects of multiple factors and mechanisms, which were further enhanced under simulated solar irradiation. 4. Conclusions Janus porous composites fabricated by creating GO-based and PCL-based layers from two paraffin oil-in-DMSO gel emulsions. The GO-based layer was formed by dispersing GO in the continuous DMSO phase, while the PCL-based layer was synthesized by dissolving PCL in the DMSO solution. These functional constituents were solidified using step-growth polymerization with polyMDI after patterning the two gel emulsions. The single GO-based porous polymers (GO- X ) had a reactively low density and highly interconnected macroporous structures. The macropores exhibited the size of around 40 µm with the pore throats (2 to 15 µm). In contrast, the PCL-based porous polymers (PCL- Y ) showed slightly higher densities, but more typical emulsion-templated macroporous structures. The hydrophilic GO- X samples exhibited a preferential water uptake, while the hydrophobic PCL- Y samples showed a preference for absorbing organic solvent or/and oil. The GO- X and PCL- Y samples were effectively bonded to form GO- X /PCL- Y Janus porous composites, showing a high compression modulus from both the vertical and horizontal directions at the interface. The Janus porous composites exhibited asymmetric photothermal conversion performance. For instance, in the GO4/PCL5 Janus porous composite, the surface temperature of the GO4 layer reached 115.2°C within 90 s under simulated solar irradiation of 1.2 kW·m − 2 , while the PCL5 surface temperature only increased to 49.8°C under the same irradiation. These Janus porous composites acted as liquid diodes, enabling the directional transport of oil droplets from the hydrophilic GO- X side to the hydrophobic PCL- Y layer. Furthermore, this phenomenon was significantly enhanced under simulated solar irradiation. The GO4/PCL5 Janus porous composite was utilized for separating O/W miniemulsion, demonstrating a high separation efficiency which could be further improved under simulated solar irradiation. The outstanding performance in O/W miniemulsion separation indicates the GO- X /PCL- Y Janus porous composites are excellent candidates for emulsified oil reclamation. Declarations Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Data availability Data will be made available on request. Acknowledgments This research was supported by the CNPC Innovation Found (2022DQ02-0602), Jiangsu Province Key R&D (Social Development) Program (BE2023747), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (22KJA530001 and 22KJB430014), Talent Introduction Program of Changzhou University (ZMF22020044), and Changzhou Leading Innovative Talent Introduction and Cultivation Project (CQ20230104). Authors thank the Analysis and Testing Center of Changzhou University for the characterization. References Gennes P-GD, Nobel Lecture: Soft Matter, in, NobelPrize.org., 1991. 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Supplementary Files GelEmulsionTemplatedJanusPorousCompositesESI.docx MovieS1.avi MovieS2.avi Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 29 Oct, 2024 Read the published version in Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 27 Aug, 2024 Reviews received at journal 02 Aug, 2024 Reviews received at journal 01 Aug, 2024 Reviews received at journal 31 Jul, 2024 Reviews received at journal 31 Jul, 2024 Reviews received at journal 30 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Jul, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 22 Jul, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 18 Jun, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Jun, 2024 First submitted to journal 04 May, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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emulsions\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Figure1.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4366662/v1/4d00c6829a7485e2648d1f4c.png\"},{\"id\":59591581,\"identity\":\"9f225104-0d42-4c7d-82f0-7866ba4a902a\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2024-07-03 14:52:14\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":2,\"title\":\"Figure 2\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"figure\",\"size\":4064139,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\\u003cp\\u003ea) FTIR spectra for the GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e samples; SEM images for the GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e samples: b) OG-4, c) OG-8 and d) OG-12 (insert with magnified SEM images)\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Figure2.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4366662/v1/af54b5e8386a2311e157251a.png\"},{\"id\":59591591,\"identity\":\"00e4045e-8801-42fe-b856-78bd926bce25\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2024-07-03 14:52:15\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":3,\"title\":\"Figure 3\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"figure\",\"size\":4748050,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\\u003cp\\u003ea) FTIR spectra for the PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e samples; SEM images for the PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003esamples: b) PCL-5, c) PCL-10 and d) PCL-20\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Figure3.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4366662/v1/337a47ed7770c350a99e197a.png\"},{\"id\":59591585,\"identity\":\"13d7233a-2aa8-40ed-a111-373f5a1f476a\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2024-07-03 14:52:14\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":4,\"title\":\"Figure 4\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"figure\",\"size\":1436500,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eWCA of GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e and PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e samples: a) GO-4, e) GO-8, f) GO-12, d) PCL-5, e) PCL-10, and f) PCL-20; Liquid uptakes of g) GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e samples and h) PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003esamples.\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Figure4.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4366662/v1/893c9ea933426d49e2645e06.png\"},{\"id\":59591588,\"identity\":\"3e7fb9fe-0765-4549-9f90-9d627f828130\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2024-07-03 14:52:14\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":5,\"title\":\"Figure 5\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"figure\",\"size\":5991210,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eSEM images for the GO/PCL Janus porous composites: a) GO4/PCL5, b) GO8/PCL10, c) GO12/PCL20, and d) GO4/PCL5 without gold sputtering\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Figure5.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4366662/v1/0bed6bffb1fcdf7bf00e0cee.png\"},{\"id\":59591592,\"identity\":\"2eae78fe-8fe9-48ec-bee8-fc2d1e4add29\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2024-07-03 14:52:15\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":6,\"title\":\"Figure 6\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"figure\",\"size\":990015,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eCompressive stress-strain curves of homogeneous porous polymers and Janus porous composites: a) GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e samples, b) PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e samples, and c) GO4/PCL5 Janus porous composite in horizontal and vertical orientation\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Figure6.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4366662/v1/85804e2900441cbfe3496db7.png\"},{\"id\":59592023,\"identity\":\"6232d3c4-1890-4eb3-8b8a-e94e55a89ba0\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2024-07-03 15:00:14\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":7,\"title\":\"Figure 7\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"figure\",\"size\":257865,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eIR images of the GO4/PCL5 Janus porous composite: GO4 layer under a) 0.1, b) 0.6 and c) 1.2 kW·m\\u003csup\\u003e-2\\u003c/sup\\u003e irradiation, and d) PCL5 layer under 1.2 kW·m\\u003csup\\u003e-2 \\u003c/sup\\u003eirradiation; e) surface temperature via irradiation time under different conditions\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"7.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4366662/v1/2e04e947e8b9a4615e2891b3.png\"},{\"id\":59592025,\"identity\":\"bf24a0ca-26b1-4322-8e94-7186029ab0ae\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2024-07-03 15:00:14\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":8,\"title\":\"Figure 8\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"figure\",\"size\":11100445,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eSchematic diagrams (left) and snapshots (right) of the oil drop transportation underwater from the GO layer to the PCL layer of the GO4/PCL5 without (a) and with (b) simulated solar irradiation; OM images (insert with DLS distributions) and digital photographs of the emulsified oil before (left) and after (right) separation without (c) and with (d) simulated solar irradiation\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Figure8.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4366662/v1/d9459f73a8365ddfa4671ba3.png\"},{\"id\":68207057,\"identity\":\"f71e0c4e-d367-4508-bbfb-b06360c198a4\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2024-11-04 16:34:29\",\"extension\":\"pdf\",\"order_by\":0,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"manuscript-pdf\",\"size\":46559169,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"manuscript.pdf\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4366662/v1/fe7d3fc3-1766-45b1-b2e1-e34e7c4294d0.pdf\"},{\"id\":59592021,\"identity\":\"93ca9326-7d17-4d60-999f-72c43d618838\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2024-07-03 15:00:14\",\"extension\":\"docx\",\"order_by\":1,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"supplement\",\"size\":1308261,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"GelEmulsionTemplatedJanusPorousCompositesESI.docx\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4366662/v1/92208fb933fc09d1414f7c9d.docx\"},{\"id\":59592024,\"identity\":\"e1fd57dd-7e58-4849-bc49-321917fec9cb\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2024-07-03 15:00:14\",\"extension\":\"avi\",\"order_by\":2,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"supplement\",\"size\":2371790,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"MovieS1.avi\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4366662/v1/909a2ac24f68c4f0ee1ac431.avi\"},{\"id\":59592022,\"identity\":\"f5ccb313-df2e-44b7-8cd7-a5b180353cca\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2024-07-03 15:00:14\",\"extension\":\"avi\",\"order_by\":3,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"supplement\",\"size\":622738,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"MovieS2.avi\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4366662/v1/7c1581627bd6c5da39c843c8.avi\"}],\"financialInterests\":\"No competing interests reported.\",\"formattedTitle\":\"Layered gel emulsion-templated Janus porous composites for emulsified oil separation\",\"fulltext\":[{\"header\":\"1. Introduction\",\"content\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eJanus interface materials have attracted widespread interest since the forward-looking lecture of the Nobel Laureate, Prof. P. G. de Gennes in 1991 [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR1\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e1\\u003c/span\\u003e]. Janus materials can be designed at various length scales, from the molecular to micro-nano to macro-scale [\\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\\\"CR3\\\" citationid=\\\"CR2\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u0026ndash;\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR4\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e4\\u003c/span\\u003e]. As a macro-scale Janus material, the Janus two-dimensional porous composite (Janus porous membrane) shows practical applications in advanced separation techniques [\\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\\\"CR6\\\" citationid=\\\"CR5\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e5\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u0026ndash;\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR7\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e7\\u003c/span\\u003e]. Janus porous membranes, with their asymmetric-wettability, act as liquid diodes by facilitating spontaneous unidirectional liquid permeation [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR8\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e8\\u003c/span\\u003e]. These membranes hold great potential for separating emulsified oils [\\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\\\"CR10\\\" citationid=\\\"CR9\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e9\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u0026ndash;\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR11\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e11\\u003c/span\\u003e]. The asymmetric structure allows emulsified oil droplets to forcefully migrate through, resulting in a significant reduction in their quantity and ultimately leading to complete demulsification [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR12\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e12\\u003c/span\\u003e, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR13\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e13\\u003c/span\\u003e]. However, there are still significant challenges in achieving high separation efficiency for emulsions containing fine particle sizes and high viscosity droplets.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eMicroporous membranes have shown promise in effectively separating minisize emulsified oils, commonly found in wastewater generated by various industries such as petrochemical, food, steel, medicine, and pesticide [\\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\\\"CR15\\\" citationid=\\\"CR14\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e14\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u0026ndash;\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR16\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e16\\u003c/span\\u003e]. To achieve a balance between high permeation flux and high separation efficiency, the selective layer of microporous membranes must be thin enough, while retaining their effective pore size. Further research employed porous membranes with heterogeneous structures to separate minisize oils. For instance, a polydopamine/poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDA/PDDA) Janus membrane was utilized to separate both macro- and miniemulsions through the charge screening effect [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR17\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e17\\u003c/span\\u003e]. A 3D porous composite foam overcame the limitations of size-sieving effect by its advantageous porous structures [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR18\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e18\\u003c/span\\u003e]. The electro-induced oil coalescence by a superhydrophilic membrane strengthened the sieving effect and separated smaller oil droplets with bigger pores [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR19\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e19\\u003c/span\\u003e]. Porous biochar/nanofibrous aerogels exhibited a superhydrophobic surface and hierarchical porous structure, making them suitable for nanoemulsion separation [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR20\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e20\\u003c/span\\u003e]. Another challenge is the separation of highly viscous oil, driving various viscosity reduction strategies, such as photothermal effect [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR15\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e15\\u003c/span\\u003e, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR21\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e21\\u003c/span\\u003e], joule-heating [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR22\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e22\\u003c/span\\u003e, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR23\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e23\\u003c/span\\u003e], magneto-heating [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR24\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e24\\u003c/span\\u003e]. Fortunately, Janus composites offer the advantage of coupling multi-functionalities [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR3\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e3\\u003c/span\\u003e, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR25\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e25\\u003c/span\\u003e]. It is possible to achieve higher separation efficiency for minisize emulsified viscous oils using difunctional Janus porous composites.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eJanus porous composites are usually created through two approaches: asymmetric fabrication [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR10\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e10\\u003c/span\\u003e, \\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\\\"CR27\\\" citationid=\\\"CR26\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e26\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u0026ndash;\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR28\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e28\\u003c/span\\u003e] and asymmetric decoration [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR17\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e17\\u003c/span\\u003e, \\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\\\"CR30\\\" citationid=\\\"CR29\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e29\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u0026ndash;\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR31\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e31\\u003c/span\\u003e]. Emulsion-templated porous polymers have gained significant attention as mother porous materials, due to their controlled pore size, highly interconnected porous structure, and flexible scaffold constitution [\\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\\\"CR33 CR34\\\" citationid=\\\"CR32\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e32\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u0026ndash;\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR35\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e35\\u003c/span\\u003e]. These porous polymers are typically templated by high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs), which were usually defined as gel emulsions, allowing he preparation of Janus or/and gradient porous materials. For example, polydisperse droplets were distributed gradationally under the centrifugal force, resulting in a gradient porous material after locking the structure and the subsequent purification [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR36\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e36\\u003c/span\\u003e]. More works used gel emulsions to create Janus or multi-layered porous materials through a simple patterning method [\\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\\\"CR38 CR39 CR40\\\" citationid=\\\"CR37\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e37\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u0026ndash;\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR41\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e41\\u003c/span\\u003e]. Additionally, Janus porous materials were also fabricated from homogeneous emulsion-templated porous materials using an asymmetric decoration strategy [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR42\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e42\\u003c/span\\u003e].\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eHerein, as depicted in Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig1\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e1\\u003c/span\\u003e, a series Janus porous composites were fabricated using layered gel emulsions as templates. For the template, a graphene oxide (GO) based gel emulsion was layered onto a poly(\\u003cem\\u003eε\\u003c/em\\u003e-caprolactone) (PCL) based gel emulsion. The PCL-based emulsion was formed by dissolving triarm hydroxyl-terminated PCL (PCL-triol) in a continuous phase of paraffin oil-in-dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) emulsion. On the other hand, the GO-based emulsion dispersed the GO in the DMSO and emulsified it with paraffin oil. The two gel emulsions were solidified using a step-growth polymerization with poly[(phenyl isocyanate)-\\u003cem\\u003eco\\u003c/em\\u003e-formaldehyde] (polyMDI). To create a Janus porous composite, the gel emulsions were overlaid together before solidification. After the polymerization, the PCL-based layer and GO-based layer were tightly bonded. The resultant GO/PCL Janus porous composites exhibited asymmetric surface wettability and photothermal conversion effect. The GO/PCL Janus porous composites efficiently separated mixed oil and emulsified oil. Moreover, their efficiency was further enhanced under simulated solar irradiation.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e \\u003c/p\\u003e\"},{\"header\":\"2. Experimental sections\",\"content\":\"\\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec3\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003e2.1. Materials\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eGraphene oxide (GO, diameter: 0.5\\u0026thinsp;~\\u0026thinsp;5\\u0026micro;m) were purchased from Nanjing Xianfeng Nano Co., Ltd. Pluronic\\u0026reg;F-127, poly[(phenyl isocyanate)-\\u003cem\\u003eco\\u003c/em\\u003e-formaldehyde] (polyMDI, \\u003cem\\u003eM\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csub\\u003en\\u003c/sub\\u003e \\u0026sim;340), and dibutyltindilaurate (DBTDL) were purchased from Aladdin. Triarm hydroxyl-terminated polycaprolactone (PCL-triol, \\u003cem\\u003eM\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csub\\u003en\\u003c/sub\\u003e \\u0026sim;500) was purchased from eSUN. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), paraffin oil, acetone, ethanol, chloroform, hexane, cetyltriethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and polyoxyethylene (EO20) sorbitan monooleate (Tween80) were purchased from Sinopharm. Colza oil, olive oil and peanut oil were purchased from a local supermarket. Prior to use, DMSO and paraffin oil were dried using activated 3 \\u0026Aring; molecular sieves. GO and F-127 were vacuum dried at 60\\u0026deg;C for 24 h. Deionized water was used in all experiments.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec4\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003e2.2. Preparation of single hydrophilic porous composites\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe hydrophilic porous composite was synthesized using a nonaqueous gel emulsion templating method. GO was dispersed in a continuous phase of DMSO mixture. Typically, 1.00 g of GO, 2.50 g of F-127 and 15.40 g of DMSO were mixed and well dispersed using sonication as the continuous phase. Then, 75.00 g of paraffin oil was dropwise added to the DMSO mixture under stirring with a high-speed homogenizer, forming a paraffin oil-in-DMSO gel emulsion. After continuous stirring for 15 min, a polyMDI/DMSO solution (containing 1.00 g of polyMDI and 5.00 g of DMSO) was added. Subsequently, a few drops of DBTDL were added and stirring continued for 5 min (gel emulsion A). Solidified gels were formed through step-growth polymerization at 60\\u0026deg;C for 24 h. Hydrophilic porous composites were obtained by removing unreacted monomer via Soxhlet extraction with acetone for 24 h, followed by water substitution and then freeze-drying. Recipes of hydrophilic porous composites were listed in Table \\u003cspan refid=\\\"MOESM1\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003eS1\\u003c/span\\u003e, and the resultant composites were denoted as GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e, with \\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e representing GO content within the continuous phase.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec5\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003e2.3. Preparation of single hydrophobic porous composites\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe hydrophobic porous composite was synthesized from the nonaqueous gel emulsion with PCL-triol dissolved in the continuous phase of DMSO solution. Typically, 1.25 g of PCL-triol, 2.50 g of F-127 were fully dissolved in 14.87 g of DMSO. Then, under stirring, 75.00 g of paraffin oil was added dropwise to the DMSO solution using a high-speed homogenizer. After stirring for 15 minutes, the gel emulsion was obtained. 1.25 g of polyMDI and 5.00 g of DMSO were immediately added. A few drops of DBTDL were dropped into the emulsion, followed by an additional 5 minutes of stirring (gel emulsion B). The step-growth polymerization was carried to solidify gels at 60\\u0026deg;C for 24 h in a convection oven. Hydrophobic porous composites were collected by performing Soxhlet extraction with acetone for 24 h, followed by water substitution and then freeze-drying. Recipes of hydrophobic porous composites were listed in Table \\u003cspan refid=\\\"MOESM2\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003eS2\\u003c/span\\u003e, and the resultant composites were denoted as PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e, where \\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e represented PCL concentration within the continuous phase.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec6\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003e2.4. Preparation of Janus porous composites\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eJanus porous composites were prepared using a reported emulsion patterning method [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR39\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e39\\u003c/span\\u003e, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR41\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e41\\u003c/span\\u003e]. To start, gel emulsion A and gel emulsion B were prepared separately. The emulsions were then transferred into the corresponding syringes. Layered gel emulsions were created by extruding the two emulsions from the syringes into molds in a stepwise process. To do this, a circular mold was secured to a glass slide and filled with the gel emulsion B (or A). Then, the gel emulsion A (or B) was filled on the top of the gel emulsion B (or A). Next, the mold was moved into a convection oven and kept at 60\\u0026deg;C for 24h. Janus porous composites was obtained through Soxhlet extraction, solvent substituting, and freeze-drying.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec7\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003e2.5. Liquid uptake with single porous composites\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe standard porous composites were tested to absorb different liquids according our previous methods [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR43\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e43\\u003c/span\\u003e, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR44\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e44\\u003c/span\\u003e]. In brief, approximately 100 mg of dry GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e or PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e (\\u003cem\\u003em\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csub\\u003e0\\u003c/sub\\u003e) was immersed in 20 mL of different liquids, including water, hexane, toluene, chloroform, soybean oil, peanut oil, and olive oil. The samples were then picked out using a tweezer once achieving an equilibrium uptake. After removing surface liquid with a filter paper, the mass (\\u003cem\\u003em\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csub\\u003e\\u0026infin;\\u003c/sub\\u003e) was recorded. The average value from at least three results was reported. The equilibrium volume uptake was calculated by (\\u003cem\\u003em\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csub\\u003e\\u0026infin;\\u003c/sub\\u003e/\\u003cem\\u003em\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csub\\u003e0\\u003c/sub\\u003e-1)/\\u003cem\\u003eρ\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csub\\u003eL\\u003c/sub\\u003e, where \\u003cem\\u003eρ\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csub\\u003eL\\u003c/sub\\u003e represented the density of the corresponding liquid.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec8\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003e2.6. Emulsified oil separation with Janus porous composites\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe model oil-in-water (O/W) miniemulsion, constituted by 1.0 wt% of Tween80, 0.5 wt% of CTAB, and water/oil volume ratio 10:1, was prepared using a low-energy emulsification method [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR45\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e45\\u003c/span\\u003e]. A piece of GO4/PCL5 Janus porous composite (GO4 thickness of about 1 mm and PCL5 thickness of around 3 mm) was fixed in a glass sand core filter with an effective separation area of 2.27 cm\\u003csup\\u003e2\\u003c/sup\\u003e. The hydrophilic GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e face was placed upward for separation of the O/W miniemulsion. Gravity was used as the driving force for the separation process. After the separation process was completed, the oil concentration in trapped liquid was determined using an infrared spectrophotometer. In addition, a homemade foam box equipped with a xenon lamp was used to improve the separation efficiency under visible light irradiation. The separation efficiency (\\u003cem\\u003eR\\u003c/em\\u003e) with and without the xenon lamp was calculated using \\u003cem\\u003eR\\u003c/em\\u003e=(1-\\u003cem\\u003eC\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csub\\u003ef\\u003c/sub\\u003e/\\u003cem\\u003eC\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csub\\u003e0\\u003c/sub\\u003e)\\u0026middot;100%, where \\u003cem\\u003eC\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csub\\u003ef\\u003c/sub\\u003e and \\u003cem\\u003eC\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csub\\u003e0\\u003c/sub\\u003e represented the oil concentration of the trapped liquid and miniemulsion, respectively [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR46\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e46\\u003c/span\\u003e, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR47\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e47\\u003c/span\\u003e].\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec9\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003e2.7. Characterizations\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe morphology of gel emulsions was observed using an optical microscope (Olympus DP71). Average droplet diameters and their distributions were statistically analyzed using ImageJ software. Rheological properties of gel emulsions were studied using a rheometer (Anton Paar MCR72) with a parallel-plate geometry (diameter: 40 mm, gap: 500 \\u0026micro;m) at 25\\u0026deg;C. Dynamic frequency sweeps were conducted with an angular frequency from 0.01 to 500 rad\\u0026middot;s\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;1\\u003c/sup\\u003e at a strain of 1%. The morphology of standard porous composites and Janus porous composites was analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM, FEI Nova NanoSEM450). Chemical constituents of composites were determined using a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, Bruker EQUINOX 55). Contact angles were measured using a Kr\\u0026uuml;ss Drop Shape Analysis System-100 (DSA 100). Infrared images were monitored with an infrared thermal camera (Ti7, Fluke). Droplet size distributions before and after emulsion separation were analyzed using a dynamic light scatterer (DLS, Zetasizer Nano ZS90). Oil concentrations before and after separation was determined using an infrared spectrophotometer (TJ270-30A).\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e\"},{\"header\":\"3. Results and discussion\",\"content\":\"\\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec11\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003e3.1. Synthesis of GO-based porous polymers\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eLike previous works [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR43\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e43\\u003c/span\\u003e, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR48\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e48\\u003c/span\\u003e], mother nonaqueous gel emulsions were successfully fabricated with DMSO as the continuous phase, paraffin oil as the dispersed phase, and a nonionic surfactant, Pluronic\\u0026reg;F-127, as the stabilizer. Herein, GO-based porous polymers (GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e) were prepared by dispersing GO within the DMSO phase prior to emulsification. The resultant gel emulsions demonstrated excellent stability, with no observed phase separation for over 1 week at ambient temperature or over 24 h at 70\\u0026deg;C. Optical micrographs revealed the average dispersed droplet diameters were 33.38, 30.42, and 27.41 \\u0026micro;m for gel emulsions with GO content of 4, 8, and 12 wt% in the continuous phase, respectively (Fig. \\u003cspan refid=\\\"MOESM1\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003eS1\\u003c/span\\u003e). Rheological measurements confirmed the gel-like nature of these gel emulsions, as the storage modulus, \\u003cem\\u003eG\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u0026rsquo;, was consistently higher than the corresponding loss modulus, \\u003cem\\u003eG\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u0026rsquo;\\u0026rsquo; (Fig. \\u003cspan refid=\\\"MOESM2\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003eS2\\u003c/span\\u003ea). Additionally, all the GO-based gel emulsions exhibited characteristic shear thinning behavior (Fig. \\u003cspan refid=\\\"MOESM2\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003eS2\\u003c/span\\u003eb).\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eGO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e samples with high gel contents of over 90 wt% were successfully synthesized through step-growth polymerization. Densities of GO-4, GO-8, and GO-12 were determined to be 0.09, 0.11, and 0.13 g\\u0026middot;cm\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;3\\u003c/sup\\u003e, respectively. FTIR spectra were used to analyze the chemical components of GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig2\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e2\\u003c/span\\u003ea). All GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e samples exhibited two distinct peaks: the C\\u0026thinsp;=\\u0026thinsp;C stretching vibration of the aromatic ring of polyMDI at 1595 cm\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;1\\u003c/sup\\u003e; and the amide-II (NH-C\\u0026thinsp;=\\u0026thinsp;O) bending absorption at 1540 cm\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;1\\u003c/sup\\u003e. The stretching absorptions at 1700 and 1660 cm\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;1\\u003c/sup\\u003e corresponded to urethane C\\u0026thinsp;=\\u0026thinsp;O and urea C\\u0026thinsp;=\\u0026thinsp;O groups, respectively, which confirmed the presence of both polyurethane (PU) and polyurea (PUA) in GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR43\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e43\\u003c/span\\u003e].\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eMacroporous structures of GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e were observed from SEM images (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig2\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e2\\u003c/span\\u003eb, \\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig2\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e2\\u003c/span\\u003ec, and \\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig2\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e2\\u003c/span\\u003ed). Average macropore diameters were statistically analysed using the ImageJ, and the results were multiplied by 2/(3\\u003csup\\u003e1/2\\u003c/sup\\u003e) to correct for the random nature of the section [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR49\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e49\\u003c/span\\u003e]. The calculated macropore diameters were 40.68, 37.60, and 33.89 \\u0026micro;m for GO-4, GO-8, and GO-12, respectively. These results showed a strong correlation with the droplet diameters of GO-based gel emulsions. Moreover, the macropores were highly interconnected, and the pore throat sizes ranged from 2 to 15 \\u0026micro;m. In the magnified SEM images, the rough scaffold was covered with nanosheets, which had a positive effect on subsequent emulsified oil separation.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e \\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec12\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003e3.2. Synthesis of PCL-based porous polymers\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003ePCL-based porous polymers (PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e) were templated by the similar nonaqueous gel emulsions, where PCL-triol was dissolved in the DMSO continuous phase. The PCL-based gel emulsions were found to remain stable at ambient temperature for over 1 week or at 70\\u0026deg;C for 24 h, confirming the feasibility of solidifying the PCL-triol through step-growth polymerization. Compared with GO-based gel emulsions, dispersed droplets in PCL-based ones were smaller in size, with average diameters of 11.45, 9.41, and 8.10 \\u0026micro;m for the PCL-5, PCL-10, and PCL-20 HIPE, respectively (Fig. \\u003cspan refid=\\\"MOESM3\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003eS3\\u003c/span\\u003e). Rheological studies further confirmed gel-like properties of the emulsions (Fig. S4).\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eMonolithic PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e samples were obtained through step-growth polymerization, purification and drying. The PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e samples were also highly crosslinked with a gel content exceeding 90 wt%. However, compared to GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e, corresponding PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e samples exhibited slightly higher densities: 0.13, 0.16, and 0.23 g\\u0026middot;cm\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;3\\u003c/sup\\u003e for PCL-5, PCL-10, and PCL-20, respectively. The higher density was the result of shrinkage during fabrication. FTIR spectra of the PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e showed two peaks appeared at 3510 and 3350 cm\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;1\\u003c/sup\\u003e, which corresponded to the free and bonded N-H stretching from PU or PUA (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig3\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e3\\u003c/span\\u003ea) [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR48\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e48\\u003c/span\\u003e]. The stretching absorptions of the urethane C\\u0026thinsp;=\\u0026thinsp;O and urea C\\u0026thinsp;=\\u0026thinsp;O groups shifted to 1730 and 1710 cm\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;1\\u003c/sup\\u003e, respectively.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003ePCL-based porous polymers exhibited well-defined emulsion-templated macroporous structures, indicating greater stability of the gel emulsions during polymerization (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig3\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e3\\u003c/span\\u003eb, \\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig3\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e3\\u003c/span\\u003ec, and \\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig3\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e3\\u003c/span\\u003ed). The polymeric scaffolds were visibly corrugated, particularly the PCL-5 and PCL-10, due to unavoidable shrinkage. The correctional average macropore diameters were located at 17.56, 14.50, and 11.47 \\u0026micro;m for PCL-5, PCL-10, and PCL-20, respectively. The macropore sizes fell within 1 to 20 \\u0026micro;m, and the average size of interconnecting pore throats ranged from 0.2 to 0.5 \\u0026micro;m, like conventional emulsion-templated porous polymers [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR32\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e32\\u003c/span\\u003e].\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e \\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec13\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003e3.3. Surface wettability and liquid uptake of non-layered porous polymers\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe wettability of GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e and PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e samples were studied using water contact angles (WCAs). The instant WCAs for GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e decreased sharply from 78.9\\u0026deg; to around 64.8\\u0026deg; as the GO content increased from 4 to 12 wt% (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig4\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e4\\u003c/span\\u003ea\\u0026thinsp;~\\u0026thinsp;4c). Moreover, the GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e samples could be perfectly wetted by water at approximately 60, 40, and 25 s for GO-4, GO-8, and GO-12, respectively, due to the hydrophilicity of GO. On the other hand, the average WCAs for the PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e slightly increased from 128.4\\u0026deg; to 136.9\\u0026deg; with increasing PCL content from 5 to 20 wt% (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig4\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e4\\u003c/span\\u003ed\\u0026thinsp;~\\u0026thinsp;4f). However, the WCAs were hardly be raised any further, possibly because the hydrophilic NH\\u003csub\\u003e2\\u003c/sub\\u003e groups in PU or PUA and PEO blocks of F-127 were present during or after polymerization [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR48\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e48\\u003c/span\\u003e]. In general, the GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e samples exhibited hydrophilic properties, while the PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e samples were hydrophobic.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e and PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e samples could preferentially absorb different liquids, making them suitable to produce asymmetric layered porous materials. The GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e samples, specifically GO-4, GO-8, and GO-12, were hydrophilic and absorbed significant amounts of water, with capacities of approximately 28.4, 26.5, and 24.4 mL\\u0026middot;g\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;1\\u003c/sup\\u003e, respectively (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig4\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e4\\u003c/span\\u003eg). The water absorption capabilities of GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e were directly related to their porosities. Additionally, the GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e could still absorb a small quantity of organic solvents or oils, such as hexane, toluene, chloroform, soybean oil, peanut oil, and olive oil. Notably, the GO-4 exhibited highest uptake capacities among the GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e samples, ranging from 2.5 to 12.0 mL\\u0026middot;g\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;1\\u003c/sup\\u003e, with the maximum capacities observed for chloroform. The absorption of organic solvents or oils by GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e may be attributed to the polyMDI structure in PU or PUA and PPO blocks of F-127. On the other hand, the hydrophobic PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e showed observably higher uptake capacities of organic solvents or oils (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig4\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e4\\u003c/span\\u003eh). Liquid uptakes within PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e decreased with increasing PCL content, and PCL-5 exhibited the highest uptakes for water, hexane, toluene, chloroform, soybean oil, peanut oil, and olive oil, with values of 0, 19.8, 23.0, 26.8, 17.5, 16.2, and 13.9 mL\\u0026middot;g\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;1\\u003c/sup\\u003e, respectively. The uptake capacities indicated that the uptake was mainly contributed by the original porosity, which is different from conventional polyHIPEs where uptake is mostly contributed by gel-swelling-driven pore expansion [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR32\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e32\\u003c/span\\u003e]. The low uptake of GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e and PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e, associated with pore expansion, could be explained by their high crosslinking degree, demonstrating their dimensional stability as separating membranes.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e \\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec14\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003e3.4. Preparation of GO/PCL Janus porous composites\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eLayered porous composites were obtained by patterning GO- and PCL-based gel emulsions, followed by polymerization, purification, and drying. The pore morphology, interface, and structural asymmetry were characterized using SEM (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig5\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e5\\u003c/span\\u003e). Each layered porous composite exhibited a continuous interface and showed two distinct pore morphologies (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig5\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e5\\u003c/span\\u003ea\\u0026thinsp;~\\u0026thinsp;5c). Both sides exhibit a similar porous structure to the original GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e and PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e samples, but the pore homogeneity of the layered porous composites was lower. This difference in porous morphology was most noticeable in the GO4/PCL5 layered composite, which consisted of the two formulations with the highest porosity [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR39\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e39\\u003c/span\\u003e]. In general, each layer in the layered composites reflected the formulation used to prepare the GO- and PCL-based gel emulsions. Moreover, the interface became less curved as the content of GO and PCL increased, mainly due to the reduced shrinkage during and after the preparation process. Morphological studies confirmed that the patterning process of layered composites did not disrupt the final porous structures, but the interfaces were affected by the porosity of individual porous polymers. Additionally, the structural asymmetry of the GO4/PCL5 layered composite was examined using SEM images without gold sputtering (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig5\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e5\\u003c/span\\u003ed). The SEM image showed that the GO4/PCL5 layered composite appeared smeared, suggesting that the entire composite has lower conductivity [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR50\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e50\\u003c/span\\u003e]. The PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e samples were found to be insulative, leading to a high charge in the SEM image, whereas the conductive GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e samples could be observed without gold sputtering. In Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig5\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e5\\u003c/span\\u003ed, the highly charged PCL-based layer and the conductive GO-based layer were well combined with a clear interface. Therefore, the layered composites exhibited strict asymmetry, which could be defined as Janus composites.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e \\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec15\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003e3.5. Mechanical analysis of GO/PCL Janus porous composites\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eCompressive stress-strain curves were presented for the GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e and PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e, which exhibited typical stress-strain behaviors seen in conventional polyHIPEs: a linear region at low strains, followed by a stress plateau region and finally an abrupt increase in stress at the densification or crushing region (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig6\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e6\\u003c/span\\u003ea and \\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig6\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e6\\u003c/span\\u003eb) [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR43\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e43\\u003c/span\\u003e, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR48\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e48\\u003c/span\\u003e]. The Young\\u0026rsquo;s modulus (\\u003cem\\u003eE\\u003c/em\\u003e) of GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e ranged from 1.6 to 10.2 MPa, while the \\u003cem\\u003eE\\u003c/em\\u003e of PCL-Y ranged from 6.5 to 97.0 MPa. It was observed that the Young's modulus increased with the density of the corresponding porous polymers. Surprisingly, no failure was observed in these highly crosslinked GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e and PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e, even at a high compressive strain of 70%, attributed to the influence of their relatively high porosities on a deformation mechanism. Furthermore, the porous polymers, particularly the PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e samples, exhibited excellent resilient-elasticity recovery (Fig. S5). For instance, the PCL-5 sample could completely recover even after being compressed with a high strain of 70%.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eMechanical properties of GO/PCL Janus porous composites were studied using an example, the GO4/PCL5 composite. This composite was compressed in both the vertical and horizontal directions of the interface (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig6\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e6\\u003c/span\\u003ec). In the vertical direction, the GO4/PCL5 composite exhibited a compressive stress-strain curve like that of the homogeneous porous polymers. The Young\\u0026rsquo;s modulus (\\u003cem\\u003eE\\u003c/em\\u003e) for GO4/PCL5 composite was located at 4.7 MPa, which was approximately the arithmetic mean of the homogeneous GO4 and PCL5. However, the stress-strain curve was quite different when the GO4/PCL5 composite was horizontally compressed. The curve showed two elastic regions, which could be attributed to the destruction of the interface and the composite itself. The modulus was about 1.8 MPa in the first elastic region, while it increased to 4.1 MPa in the second region. Therefore, the strengthening of bonding interfaces was closer to that observed in GO-based porous polymers.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e \\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec16\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003e3.6. Asymmetric photothermal conversion of GO/PCL Janus porous composites\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe temperature evolution on both sides of the GO4/PCL5 Janus porous composite was studied using an infrared thermal imager under the simulated solar irradiation with a xenon lamp (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig7\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e7\\u003c/span\\u003e). The GO4 surface showed an efficient photothermal conversion performance. Specifically, the temperature increased from 22.7\\u0026deg;C to 39.7\\u0026deg;C (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig7\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e7\\u003c/span\\u003ea), from 21.1\\u0026deg;C to 79.3\\u0026deg;C (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig7\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e7\\u003c/span\\u003eb), and from 24.8\\u0026deg;C to 115.2\\u0026deg;C (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig7\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e7\\u003c/span\\u003ec) within 90 s under 0.1, 0.6 and 1.2 kW\\u0026middot;m\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;2\\u003c/sup\\u003e irradiation, respectively. In contrast, the temperature of the PCL5 surface only increased from 20.4\\u0026deg;C to 49.8\\u0026deg;C after being irradiated under simulative solar of 1.2 kW\\u0026middot;m\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;2\\u003c/sup\\u003e for 90 s (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig7\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e7\\u003c/span\\u003ed). GO exhibits outstanding photothermal properties due to its two-dimensional layer structure, which consists of stacked hexagonally arranged carbon atoms [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR51\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e51\\u003c/span\\u003e]. Moreover, the dispersion of GO was limited to the GO-based layers, causing an asymmetric photothermal conversion effect in the Janus porous composites. To gain a better understanding of this asymmetric photothermal conversion, the surface temperatures were recorded as a function of irradiation time (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig7\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e7\\u003c/span\\u003ee). The temperature on GO4 surface rapidly climbed under strong simulated solar of 1.2 kW\\u0026middot;m\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;2\\u003c/sup\\u003e, while the temperature on the PCL5 surface remained lower. The photothermal conversion effect on PCL5 surface (under 1.2 kW\\u0026middot;m\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;2\\u003c/sup\\u003e irradiation) was comparable to that of the GO4 surface under an extremely weaker simulated solar irradiation of 0.1 kW\\u0026middot;m\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;2\\u003c/sup\\u003e. Interestingly, regardless of the conditions, the surface temperatures initially jumped to a high level during the early stages of irradiation and finally reached a temperature plateau when the heat transforming from the simulated solar and transferring to the surroundings were balanced.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e \\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec17\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003e3.7. Oil droplet transportation and emulsified oil separation\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe Janus porous composites showed unique mass transportation behaviors due to their dual configuration with opposite wettability characteristics [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR5\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e5\\u003c/span\\u003e, \\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\\\"CR53\\\" citationid=\\\"CR52\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e52\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u0026ndash;\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR54\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e54\\u003c/span\\u003e]. It was well known that oil droplets could move through the composite under capillary forces, which determine the state of oil droplets when they encounter the porous media. In a Janus porous composite, its asymmetric wettability leaded to opposite Young-Laplace capillary pressures (\\u003cem\\u003eP\\u003c/em\\u003e) acting on the oil droplet. The upward capillary pressure (\\u003cem\\u003eP\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csub\\u003e1\\u003c/sub\\u003e), which was generated by the hydrophilic side, repelled the oil out of the composite, while the hydrophobic side created a downward capillary pressure (\\u003cem\\u003eP\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csub\\u003e2\\u003c/sub\\u003e) that drew the oil into the pores. As a result, the oil droplet was directed across the Janus porous composites, achieving the oil/water separation.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe directional transmembrane phenomenon of an underwater chloroform droplet was experimentally recorded with a camera (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig8\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e8\\u003c/span\\u003ea and \\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig8\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e8\\u003c/span\\u003eb). The droplet transferred from the hydrophilic side to the hydrophobic one within 4 s (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig8\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e8\\u003c/span\\u003ea and Movie S1). Initially, the chloroform droplet maintained a globular shape when it met the water-wetted hydrophilic side due to the underwater superoleophobicity. Then, the droplet shrank instead of spreading on the hydrophilic side, indicating it remained in a nonwettable state and underwent directional movement across the composite. Finally, the hydrophilic surface returned to its original state with no traces, confirming the successful transmembrane process of the oil droplet. In comparison, the transmembrane process under simulated solar irradiation was much faster, taking only 1 s (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig8\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e8\\u003c/span\\u003eb and Movie S2). This phenomenon could be attributed to the temperature-drive viscosity reducing of chloroform droplets on the GO-based photothermal surface. These GO/PCL Janus porous composites have shown significant potential in the separation of high-viscous crude oil or/and edible oil which viscosity is primarily influenced by temperature, as described by Glaso\\u0026rsquo;s formula [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR55\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e55\\u003c/span\\u003e, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR56\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e56\\u003c/span\\u003e].\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe separation of the oil-in-water miniemulsions was studied both without and with simulated solar irradiation (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig8\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e8\\u003c/span\\u003ec and \\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig8\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e8\\u003c/span\\u003ed). Chloroform-in-water miniemulsions were prepared using a phase inversion temperature (PIT) method, with the synergistic stabilization of the nonionic surfactant, Tween80, and the cationic surfactant, CTAB [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR45\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e45\\u003c/span\\u003e]. The as-obtained miniemulsions exhibited a typical Tyndall effect when a light beam passed through the separation column. OM images and DLS results confirmed that nanosized droplets were uniformly dispersed within the miniemulsion, with an average droplet diameter of approximately 887.5 nm. After being left to separate under gravity for over 2 h, the liquid within the column became clear without the Tyndall effect (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig8\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e8\\u003c/span\\u003ec). Less visible droplets were found in the OM image, and the average size was jumped to approximately 61.1 nm. The separation mechanism of miniemulsions might involve the synergistic effect between the interlaced transmission channel inside the composites [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR57\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e57\\u003c/span\\u003e] and the negative charge of GO on the channel wall [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR58\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e58\\u003c/span\\u003e]. The separation process was significantly accelerated under simulated solar irradiation, resulting in a clear water phase within 30 min without any visible oil droplets from the OM image (Fig.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Fig8\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e8\\u003c/span\\u003ed). The infrared spectrophotometer analysis about the depurated water phase confirmed an extremely low oil concentration of about 0.05%. The enhanced separation efficiency could be attributed to the reduction in oil phase viscosity [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR59\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e59\\u003c/span\\u003e] and the phase separation of the nonionic surfactant (cloud point) [\\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR60\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e60\\u003c/span\\u003e]. In summary, the Janus porous composites could effectively separate oil-in-water miniemulsions combined effects of multiple factors and mechanisms, which were further enhanced under simulated solar irradiation.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e \\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e\"},{\"header\":\"4. Conclusions\",\"content\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eJanus porous composites fabricated by creating GO-based and PCL-based layers from two paraffin oil-in-DMSO gel emulsions. The GO-based layer was formed by dispersing GO in the continuous DMSO phase, while the PCL-based layer was synthesized by dissolving PCL in the DMSO solution. These functional constituents were solidified using step-growth polymerization with polyMDI after patterning the two gel emulsions.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe single GO-based porous polymers (GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e) had a reactively low density and highly interconnected macroporous structures. The macropores exhibited the size of around 40 \\u0026micro;m with the pore throats (2 to 15 \\u0026micro;m). In contrast, the PCL-based porous polymers (PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e) showed slightly higher densities, but more typical emulsion-templated macroporous structures. The hydrophilic GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e samples exhibited a preferential water uptake, while the hydrophobic PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e samples showed a preference for absorbing organic solvent or/and oil. The GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e and PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e samples were effectively bonded to form GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e/PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e Janus porous composites, showing a high compression modulus from both the vertical and horizontal directions at the interface. The Janus porous composites exhibited asymmetric photothermal conversion performance. For instance, in the GO4/PCL5 Janus porous composite, the surface temperature of the GO4 layer reached 115.2\\u0026deg;C within 90 s under simulated solar irradiation of 1.2 kW\\u0026middot;m\\u003csup\\u003e\\u0026minus;\\u0026thinsp;2\\u003c/sup\\u003e, while the PCL5 surface temperature only increased to 49.8\\u0026deg;C under the same irradiation. These Janus porous composites acted as liquid diodes, enabling the directional transport of oil droplets from the hydrophilic GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e side to the hydrophobic PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e layer. Furthermore, this phenomenon was significantly enhanced under simulated solar irradiation. The GO4/PCL5 Janus porous composite was utilized for separating O/W miniemulsion, demonstrating a high separation efficiency which could be further improved under simulated solar irradiation. The outstanding performance in O/W miniemulsion separation indicates the GO-\\u003cem\\u003eX\\u003c/em\\u003e/PCL-\\u003cem\\u003eY\\u003c/em\\u003e Janus porous composites are excellent candidates for emulsified oil reclamation.\\u003c/p\\u003e\"},{\"header\":\"Declarations\",\"content\":\"\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eDeclaration of Competing Interest\\u003c/strong\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eThe authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eData availability\\u003c/strong\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eData will be made available on request.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eAcknowledgments\\u003c/strong\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eThis research was supported by the CNPC Innovation Found (2022DQ02-0602), Jiangsu Province Key R\\u0026amp;D (Social Development) Program (BE2023747), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (22KJA530001 and 22KJB430014), Talent Introduction Program of Changzhou University (ZMF22020044), and Changzhou Leading Innovative Talent Introduction and Cultivation Project (CQ20230104). 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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2010.11.069\\u003c/li\\u003e\\n\\u003c/ol\\u003e\"}],\"fulltextSource\":\"\",\"fullText\":\"\",\"funders\":[],\"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow\":false,\"hasManuscriptDocX\":true,\"hasOptedInToPreprint\":true,\"hasPassedJournalQc\":\"\",\"hasAnyPriority\":false,\"hideJournal\":false,\"highlight\":\"\",\"institution\":\"\",\"isAcceptedByJournal\":true,\"isAuthorSuppliedPdf\":false,\"isDeskRejected\":\"\",\"isHiddenFromSearch\":false,\"isInQc\":false,\"isInWorkflow\":false,\"isPdf\":false,\"isPdfUpToDate\":true,\"isWithdrawnOrRetracted\":false,\"journal\":{\"display\":true,\"email\":\"info@researchsquare.com\",\"identity\":\"advanced-composites-and-hybrid-materials\",\"isNatureJournal\":false,\"hasQc\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":false,\"externalIdentity\":\"achm\",\"sideBox\":\"Learn more about [Advanced Composites and Hybrid 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Herein, Janus porous composites were constructed using two different paraffin oil-in-dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) gel emulsions. One of the gel emulsions contained graphene oxide (GO) within the DMSO phase, while the other continuous phase was dissolved with triarm hydroxyl-terminated poly(\\u003cem\\u003eε\\u003c/em\\u003e-caprolactone) (PCL-triol). To create Janus porous composites, the gel emulsions were overlaid and solidified with poly[(phenyl isocyanate)-\\u003cem\\u003eco\\u003c/em\\u003e-formaldehyde] through step-growth polymerization. The resultant GO/PCL Janus porous composites exhibited an asymmetric double-layer structure with a tightly bonded interface. GO/PCL Janus porous composites displayed asymmetric surface wettability, functioning as a liquid diode, and enabling effective separation of oil-in-water (O/W) miniemulsion. The separation efficiency could be further improved under simulated solar irradiation, due to heat-induced viscosity reduction and phase separation caused by the photothermal conversion effect of the GO-based layer. These Janus porous composites demonstrated excellent performance in oil-water separation, making them an ideal candidate for such applications.\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"manuscriptTitle\":\"Layered gel emulsion-templated Janus porous composites for emulsified oil separation\",\"msid\":\"\",\"msnumber\":\"\",\"nonDraftVersions\":[{\"code\":1,\"date\":\"2024-07-03 14:52:09\",\"doi\":\"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4366662/v1\",\"editorialEvents\":[{\"type\":\"communityComments\",\"content\":0},{\"type\":\"decision\",\"content\":\"Revision requested\",\"date\":\"2024-08-28T03:38:14+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"editorInvitedReview\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2024-08-02T07:12:39+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"editorInvitedReview\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2024-08-01T20:11:05+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"editorInvitedReview\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2024-07-31T09:00:41+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"editorInvitedReview\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2024-07-31T08:53:01+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"editorInvitedReview\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2024-07-30T18:38:45+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"reviewerAgreed\",\"content\":\"242870789917463322394173105754932532046\",\"date\":\"2024-07-24T15:59:29+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"reviewerAgreed\",\"content\":\"321183052030796891919770294434200491483\",\"date\":\"2024-07-23T22:24:05+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"reviewerAgreed\",\"content\":\"274810550244230549490501878425312437419\",\"date\":\"2024-07-22T22:24:08+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"reviewerAgreed\",\"content\":\"158063103904279199478725176032284590179\",\"date\":\"2024-07-22T12:08:10+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"reviewerAgreed\",\"content\":\"111404759748540790695838889871441705476\",\"date\":\"2024-07-22T07:55:44+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"reviewersInvited\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2024-07-22T07:38:38+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"editorAssigned\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2024-06-18T07:34:44+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"checksComplete\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2024-06-18T05:12:31+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"submitted\",\"content\":\"Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials\",\"date\":\"2024-05-04T04:38:39+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"}],\"status\":\"published\",\"journal\":{\"display\":true,\"email\":\"info@researchsquare.com\",\"identity\":\"advanced-composites-and-hybrid-materials\",\"isNatureJournal\":false,\"hasQc\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":false,\"externalIdentity\":\"achm\",\"sideBox\":\"Learn more about [Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials](https://link.springer.com/journal/42114)\",\"snPcode\":\"42114\",\"submissionUrl\":\"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/42114/3\",\"title\":\"Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials\",\"twitterHandle\":\"\",\"acdcEnabled\":true,\"dfaEnabled\":true,\"editorialSystem\":\"em\",\"reportingPortfolio\":\"Springer Hybrid\",\"inReviewEnabled\":true,\"inReviewRevisionsEnabled\":false}}],\"origin\":\"\",\"ownerIdentity\":\"afa3922e-4945-4df0-ac64-6747c451640b\",\"owner\":[],\"postedDate\":\"July 3rd, 2024\",\"published\":true,\"recentEditorialEvents\":[],\"rejectedJournal\":[],\"revision\":\"\",\"amendment\":\"\",\"status\":\"published-in-journal\",\"subjectAreas\":[],\"tags\":[],\"updatedAt\":\"2024-11-04T16:24:24+00:00\",\"versionOfRecord\":{\"articleIdentity\":\"rs-4366662\",\"link\":\"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-024-01033-y\",\"journal\":{\"identity\":\"advanced-composites-and-hybrid-materials\",\"isVorOnly\":false,\"title\":\"Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials\"},\"publishedOn\":\"2024-10-29 16:05:15\",\"publishedOnDateReadable\":\"October 29th, 2024\"},\"versionCreatedAt\":\"2024-07-03 14:52:09\",\"video\":\"\",\"vorDoi\":\"10.1007/s42114-024-01033-y\",\"vorDoiUrl\":\"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-024-01033-y\",\"workflowStages\":[]},\"version\":\"v1\",\"identity\":\"rs-4366662\",\"journalConfig\":\"researchsquare\"},\"__N_SSP\":true},\"page\":\"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]\",\"query\":{\"redirect\":\"/article/rs-4366662\",\"identity\":\"rs-4366662\",\"version\":[\"v1\"]},\"buildId\":\"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt\",\"isFallback\":false,\"isExperimentalCompile\":false,\"dynamicIds\":[84888],\"gssp\":true,\"scriptLoader\":[]}","source_license":"CC-BY-4.0","license_restricted":false}