An Electro‐Responsive Copper Foam with Self‐Cleaning Capability for Continuous High‐Flux Demulsification of Surfactant‐Stabilized Oil‐in‐Water Emulsions

Traditional 3D porous superwetting materials exhibit exceptional demulsification performance for oil‐in‐water emulsions by transcending “size‐sieving” limitations, achieving high separation efficiency and flux. Nevertheless, their practical implementation faces severe flux decay due to wettability alteration and pore blockage from surfactant saturation adsorption during demulsification. To overcome this, an electro‐responsive self‐cleaning 3D porous copper foam composite (CCo@CF‐PPy/CNTs) is engineered. This system enables continuous separation of surfactant‐stabilized emulsions through dynamic interfacial charge regulation via cathodic polarization. At −4.5 V applied potential, charge density reconstruction of surface functional groups (─SO 3 − , ─NH─) elevates zeta potential from −12.1 to −32.31 mV. This enhancement synergistically strengthens Donnan exclusion, underwater oleophobicity, and hydrodynamic drag forces, thereby resolving dual operational challenges: surfactant adsorption (compromising demulsification) and oil adhesion (reducing flux). The optimized configuration sustains demulsification while overcoming the inherent conflict between oil adhesion and pore clogging in 3D channels. During continuous processing of 3000 mL emulsion, it maintains 67.5% flux retention (>8000 L m −2 h −1 ), representing a 16.8‐fold improvement over non‐electrified systems, while maintaining a separation efficiency of 99.2 ± 0.3%. Crucially, oil migration transitions from “pore retention” to “fluidic expulsion”. The material demonstrates robust performance in industrial wastewater containing asphaltenes, providing theoretical frameworks and engineering solutions for designing high‐flux, anti‐fouling oil‐water separation systems.