Fig. 5: Particle separation results with the single-layer and multi-layer filtrations.

a Particle separation of the single-layer filtration. Size distribution of the particles before and after filtration (the filtration membrane of case 3 in Table 2), and a typical SEM image of the particles trapped on the filtration membrane. b Particle separation of the multi-layer filtration. Typical SEM images of the particles trapped on the filtration membranes (cases 1 to 4), and size distribution of the particles trapped on the filtration membranes with different micropore diameters during the multi-layer filtration